REESE    LIBRARY 


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188 


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\^ 


THE 


HIGHER  CHRISTIAN  LIFE. 


BY 


REV.  W.  E.   BOARDMAN. 


That  ye  may  be  filled  with  all  the  fulness  of  God." 


BOSTON: 
HENRY    II  0  Y  T  , 

CHICAGO: 
WM.    TOM  L  INS  ON. 

1858. 


Entered  according  to  Act  of  Congress  in  the  year  1858,  by 

HENRY  HOYT, 
In  the  Clerk's  Office  of  the   District   Court  of  Massachusetts. 


Printed  by 

BA7IN     <t    CHANDLER, 

37  Cornhill. 


THE  HIGHER  CHRISTIAN  LIFE. 


IN  THREE  PARTS. 


PART  I. 

WHAT    IT    IS. 

PAET    II. 

HOW  ATTAINED. 

PART  III. 

PROGRESS     AND     POWER 


PREFACE. 


THE  title-page  will  suffice  the  careless  one ;  he  will 
go  no  farther.  The  curious  will  go  deeper,  and  a 
little  patience  and  perseverance  will  satisfy  him  also, 
and  perhaps  repay  him  for  his  time  and  trouble. 
If  the  earnest  searcher  for  the  best  things  can  be 
satisfied  as  fully,  he  will  be  repaid  a  thousand  fold, 
and  the  great  aim  of  the  book  will  be  gained. 

In  unfolding  the  subject,  the  historical  and  induc 
tive  method  has  been  chosen,  both  as  the  most 
interesting  and  convincing.  Examples  of  exper 
ience  are  given  from  history  as  a  basis  —  in  con 
nexion  with  the  Bible  —  but  beyond  that,  sketches 
from  life,  never  before  published,  have  been  pre 
ferred,  because  of  their  freshness,  and  also  for  the 
purpose  of  adding  to  the  treasures  of  published 
Christian  experience.  Lovers  of  truth  cannot  fail 
to  be  profited  by  the  mass  of  facts  embodied, 


VI  PREFACE. 

even  though  they  should  dissent  from  the  indue 
tions  of  the  author. 

Tne  Higher  Christian  Life,  as  a  title  has  been 
adopted  for  want  of  a  better.  A  wider  sphere  for 
the  experimental  truth  set  forth,  and  a  clearer 
delineation  are  the  things  sought ;  and  hackneyed 
terms,  or  pre-appropriated  terms,  or  terms  against 
which  prejudice  is  arrayed,  would  not  answer. 

Next  after  this  title  "Full  trust  and  Full  Sal 
vation  "  would  have  been  preferred,  as  most 
expressive  and  least  objectionable.  Full  trust,  rather 
than  full  faith,  because,  faith  has  been  so  philoso 
phised  into  a  hundred  shades  of  meaning,  and  so 
hackneyed  in  use  as,  to  have  lost  its  significance 
to  many.  Trust  is  perhaps  the  only  other  word 
that  conveys  the  original  meaning  of  faith.  And 
as  faith  is  the  the  all-inclusive  condition  of  salva 
tion,  full  trust  expresses  the  sole  condition  of  full 
salvation  which  it  is  the  design  of  this  volume  to 
illustrate. 

Jesus  is  the  way.  Full  trust  the  means.  There 
fore,  —  to  secure  confidence  in  Jesus,  if  possible, — it 
has  been  the  author's  great  aim  to  develop,  clearly, 
fully,  and  simply,  the  relations  of  Jesus  to  the 
soul,  and  of  the  soul  to  Jesus. 


PREFACE.  Vii 

In  the  use  of  terms  the  Bible  principle  —  not 
the  strict  one  —  has  been  followed.  "  Second 
Conversion."  for  example.  Of  course,  it  is  not 
intended,  to  convey  the  idea  of  a  second  regen 
eration,  but  that  expressed  by  President  Edwards, 
in  the  term  —  "  Remarkable  Conversions,"  —  which 
is  the  title  of  his  account  of  several  remarkable 
cases  of  higher  life  attained  after  conversion. 

Such  "conversions"  are  certainly  "remarkable" 
but  if  there  are  any  who  think  the  experience 
beyond  the  reaeh  of  all,  let  them  try  it  by  the 
Word  —  the  only  infallible  criterion  —  if  it  is  not 
warranted  by  the  Bible,  reject  it ;  but  if  it  stands 
the  test,  then  seize  it  as  a  treasure  above 
rubies.  And  if  any  believe  in  the  truth  of  this  mat 
ter,  but  would  like  other  terms,  and  other  methods, 
let  them  bear  in  mind  that  while  truth  is  one,  meth 
ods  are  many  ;  and  if  experimental  truth  is  taught 
and  received,  it  is  of  very  little  consequence  wheth 
er  theories  and  terms  to  which  we  are  accustomed, 
are  associated  with  it  or  not. 

If  it  is  God's  truth,  fitly  spoken,  and  has  His 
blessing,  it  will  stand ;  otherwise  let  it  fall  to  the 
ground. 


SKETCHES. 


MARTIN  LUTHER, 20 

MERLE  D'AUBIGNE, 33 

HESTER  ANN  ROGERS,  42 

MAIIAN  AND  FINNEY, 66 

THEORIST  CHANGED, 69 

CARVOSSO, 80 

HAYELOCK, 83 

A  SON  OF  THE  PROPHETS,  120 

AN  EMINENT  LADY, 127 

A  MERCHANT, 131 

A  SHAKERESS, 145 

A  YOUNG  DISCIPLE, 162 

THE  WORKER, 167 

THE  PASTOR, 175 

YOUNG  THEOLOGIAN  IN  THE  CARS, 187 

DR.  PAYSON, 200 

A  NEW  ENGLAND  LADY  IN  THE  WEST, 201 

GOY.  DUNCAN,  OF  ILLINOIS, 207 

THE  HON.  JUDGE  AND  THE  POOR  AFRICAN  WOMAN, 238 

THE  MINER  OF  POTOSI, 257 

THE  CRIPPLE, 269 

ORIENTAL  PRINCE  AND  HIS  CAPTIVE, 286 

SUSAN  ALLIBONE, 293 

THE  AGED  YOUTHFUL  ONE,  OR,  THE  OCTOGENARIAN 

WORKER 294 

FATHER  A.,  WHO  BURNT  THE  BRIDGE, 324 


CONTENTS. 


PART    I. 
WHAT       IT       IS. 

CHAPTER    I. 
INTRODUCTORY,— THE  BOOK  WANTED, 15 

CHAPTER   II. 

HISTORICAL  EXAMPLE, 19 

"Lift  up  a  standard  for  the  people,"  Isaiah.  God's  method 
of  instruction  by  examples.  Luther  —  childhood  and  youth. 
Death  of  Alexis.  Visit  to  Mansfeldt.  Thunderbolt  at  his 
side.  Convictions.  Enters  convent.  Agony  —  Illness.  Stau- 
pitz.  Gleams  of  hope.  Old  monk  and  his  credo.  Forgive 
ness  of  sin.  Joy  of  Luther.  Recovery.  Luther's  first  Bible. 
Appointment  as  Professor  at  Wittemburg.  Lectures.  Em 
bassy  to  Rome.  Deeper  experience.  Unbounded  joy. 

CHAPTER   III. 

EXAMPLES  COMPARED, 32 

Luther's  example  —  its  force.  D'Aubigne.  Conversion  at 
Geneva.  Haldane  pays  the  debt  of  Knox  at  Geneva.  Glo 
rious  work  amongst  the  students.  D'Aubigne's  course  for  five 
years  after.  Journey  to  Copenhagen.  Meeting  with  Rieu 
and  F.  Monod  at  Keil.  His  inward  struggles.  Call  upon 
Kleuker.  Instructions.  Second  experience  in  the  Inn-room 
at  Keil.  Disavowal  of  Perfectionism.  Baxter,  Edwards, 
Hewitson,  &c.,  &c.,  compared  with  Wesleyans  and  Oberlin- 
ians.  Experience  the  same  —  theories  different.  Parallel 
between  D'Aubigne  and  Mrs.  Rogers. 

CHAPTER    IV. 
EXPLANATIONS. 

THE  FACTS  AND  THE  PHILOSOPHY  OF  THE  FACTS, 45 

1.     Full  salvation.     Apostles.     Primitive  Christians.     Expia 
tion  not  needed. 


X  CONTENTS. 

2.  Second  experience  distinct  from  the  first.     Not  accounted 
for    by    supposing    deception    in    the   first.     Nor    return 
from  backsliding.    The  true  solution.    Experimental  appre 
hension  of  the  way  of  sanctification  by  faith. 

3.  Instantaneous.     Why.     Not  always  marked. 

4.  Harmonies  and  differences  between  Lutherans,  Wesleyans, 
and  Oberlinians. 

CHAPTER    V. 
A  STUMBLING  STONE, 64 

"  Gather  out  the  stones."  No  necessary  connection  between 
this  second  experience  and  perfectionism.  The  one  an  experi 
ence.  The  other  a  theory.  Oberlin.  Experience  of  Messrs. 
Mahan  and  Finney.  Shocked  at  the  question  whether  the  ex 
perience  was  not  "Christian  perfection."  The  terms  and 
theory  adopted  afterward.  Another  illustration. 

CHAPTER    VI. 
NOT  FOR  ME.    WHY  NOT  ? 74 

"  For  the  promise  is  unto  you  and  to  your  children,"  $c., 
Unbelief  not  modesty.  Plea  of  the  unconverted.  Christ  a 
full  Saviour.  Objection.  CARVOSSO.  An  orphan.  Conver 
ted.  "  Second  conversion."  Becomes  a  fisherman.  Eminently 
useful,  Builds  a  chapel.  Becomes  a  farmer.  Gathers  three 
classes.  Builds  another  chapel.  Means  of  700  conversions 
in  one  place.  Learns  to  write  at  sixty-five.  Letters  and  auto 
biography,  voluminous  and  luminous.  GEN.  SIR  HENRY 
HAVELOCK.  Conversion  on  the  sea  on  board  the  ' '  Gen.  Kyd. ' ' 
'  Deeper  experience  at  Fort  William,  Calcutta.  Eminent  use 
fulness. 


PART    II. 

HOW      ATTAINED. 

CHAPTER  I. 
FOR  ME.    WHAT  THEN  SHALL  I  DO  ? 91 

"Repent  and  be  baptized  in  the  name  of  the  Lord  Jesus 
Christ,  and  ye  shall  receive  the  Holy  Ghost."  Objection  an 
ticipated.  The  Father  and  the  Spirit  not  dishonored  but  hon 
ored  by  full  trust  in  Jesus.  Official  relations  of  the  three 
persons  of  the  Trinity.  Illustrations.  Essential  relations. 
Solution  of  Scripture  difficulties  upon  the  subject.  Solution 
of  practical  difficulties.  Prayer  to  each  of  the  persons  war 
ranted. 


CONTENTS.  Xi 

CHAPTER    II. 

CHRIST  ALL-SUFFICIENT,  AND  FAITH  ALL-INCLUSIVE, 116 

The  analogies  of  First  ami  Second  experience.  Differences. 
CHRIST  ALL.  A  SON  OF  THE  PROPHETS  AT  A  SCHOOL  OF  THE 
PROPHETS.  Legal  struggles.  Covenants.  Vows,  Failures. 
Conversation  with  a  fellow-student.  Conviction.  Agony. 
Deliverance.  Takes  Christ  as  all.  Great  Joy.  FAITH  TWO 
FOLD.  ALL-INCLUSIVE.  Gives  all.  Takes  all.  AN  EMINENT 
LADY.  Her  fruitless  attempts  to  take  salvation  without  con 
secrating  all  to  God.  Her  success  when  she  consecrates  all. 
A  MERCHANT.  His  vain  attempts  to  gain  all  by  consecration 
without  taking  Christ  as  a  sanctifying  Saviour.  His  success 
when  he  trusts  all  to  Christ. 

CHAPTER   III. 

STOPPED  IN  THE  WAT.    BY  WHAT  ? 139 

God  arrests  by  the  burning  bush.  Man  conjures  up  difficul 
ties.  Difficult  to  arouse  the  Christian  to  see  what  God  has  in 
store  for  him.  ABRAHAM'S  two  stages  in  the  way  to  Canaan. 
C  HILDREN  OF  ISRAEL.  Shrunk  back  after  their  deliverance  from 
Egypt.  Afraid  to  enter  Canaan. 

Difficulties  —  1.      FEAR  OF  THE   BRAND      Gen.  Havelock. 

2.  FEAR  OF  HERESY.  Danger.  A  SHAKERESS.  Was  once  the  wife 
of  an  excellent  minister.     False  principle  of  interpretation. 
Millerite  views.    Met  a   Shakeress.     Fascinated.     Warning. 

3.  RELUCTANCE  TO  GIVE  ur  THE  WORLD.    False  reasonings. 

4.  ASCETIC  VIEWS  OF  RELIGION.    The  temptations  and  dis 
tortions  of  Satan.    BLINDNESS  OF  MIND  THROUGH  UNBELIEF. 

'<* 

CHAPTER     IV. 

THE  WAY  MISSED.    BY  WHOM  AND  HOW  ? 159 

Christ  the  way.  By-ways.  Want  of  Docility  as  the  basis  of 
all.  A  YOUNG  CHRISTIAN.  Her  conversion.  Happiness.  At 
tractions  of  the  world.  Difficulties.  Her  second  experience. 
Convinced.  Goes  to  Jesus.  Finds  Him.  Has  the  fulness  of 
salvation  all  in  one  hour.  SOME  MISS  THE  WAY  BY  CLINGING 

TO     A      PRECONCEIVED     WAY     OF    THEIR     OWN.      TllE    WORKER. 

His  theory  of  sanctification  by  works,  and  his  abundant  works 
to  secure  sanctification.  Failure.  Error  pointed  out.  Effect 
upon  him  overwhelming.  Converted  at  last  to  sanctification 
by  faith.  THE  PASTOR.  Tried  every  by-way.  Went  first  to 
books  and  men  instead  of  Christ.  Next  to  the  promotion  of 


ll  CONTENTS. 

unpopular  reforms  to  humble  himself.  Then  to  change  of 
habits  and  to  hard  work  for  religion.  Next  co  prayer  to  be 
made  holy.  Finally  in  despair  saw  in  the  contrast  Seventh 
and  Eighth  of  Romans.  Christ  the  way.  Happiness,  Re- 
vival. 


PART    III. 

PROGRESS     AND     POWER. 
CHAPTER   I. 

STAGES  OF  PROGRESS— STARTING  POINTS  NOT  STOPPING  PLACES,  . .  187 
The  two  travellers  in  the  car.  YOUNG  GENTLEMAN.  His  mis 
take.  Its  correction.  Why  speak  of  stages?  Increasing 
light.  Plant.  The  blade.  The  corn.  The  full  corn  in  the 
ear.  The  dawn.  The  sunrise.  The  noontide.  John  the  Baptist. 
The  apostles.  Whitefield.  Do  all  Christians  have  the  same 
experience  ?  Yes,  essentially.  No,  circumstantially.  A  NEW 
ENGLAND  LADY  IN  THE  WEST.  Her  conversion.  Journey. 
Log  cabin  home.  Illness.  Rebellions.  Submission.  Trust. 
Full  salvation.  Varieties,  as  Abraham  and  Jacob.  Must  all 
have  second  conversion?  Essentially,  yes.  Circumstantially, 
no  Full  salvation  experienced  by  many  in  the  last  days  or 
moments  of  life.  DR.  PAYSON.  Gov.  DUNCAN.  Three  week's 
illness.  Unprepared  to  die.  Struggles.  Failure.  Leaves  all 
to  Jesus.  Triumphant.  "  Tell  him  I  have  found  the  way  of 
salvation  by  faith  in  Jesus." 

CHAPTER  II. 

TIMES  AND  SEASONS, 213 

God's  works  timely.  Seed  time.  Harvest.  Revivals  no  novelty. 
Great  periods.  Great  truths.  Great  men.  Timeliness  now 
of  sanctification  by  faith.  Review  of  historical  periods.  Trans 
lation  of  Enoch.  The  Flood.  Overthrow  of  Babel.  Call  of 
Abraham.  Exode.  Law.  Kingdom.  Captivity.  Advent. 
Pentecost.  Gentiles.  Reformation.  Great  revival.  Mission 
ary  Era.  What  now  ? 

CHAPTER   III. 

THE  PRESENT  AND  THE  FUTURE, 225 

The  present  the  stepping-stone  to  the  future.  Near  the  end. 
The  future.  Unity,  Activity  and  Spirituality.  Union,  its 
progress.  Activity,  its  prevalence  Spirituality,  its  buddings. 


CONTENTS.  Xlli 

Significant  omissions  in  recent  descriptions  of  Luther's  and 
D'Aubigne*s  experience  Spirituality,  the  want  of  the  pres 
ent  for  the  future.  The  power  of  full  salvation.  TUE  JUDGE 

AND  THE  POOR  AFRICAN  WOMAN. 

CHAPTER    IV. 

THE  CHRISTIAN  LIFE.  ITS  ABIDING  FORCES  AND  ABIDING  GRACES.  246 
Learning  to  die.  Learning  to  Live.  Abiding  forces,  Faith, 
Hope,  Charity.  Occasional  forces,  Inspiration,  Miracles, 
Persecution.  Faith  includes  hope  and  works  by  love.  Cloud 
of  witnesses.  Sustaining  power  of  faith.  THE  MINER  OF 
POTOSI.  Satan's  seat,  called  "  Snake  Hollow. "  Empty  bar- 
rells  rolled  after  minister  in  the  street.  Card-playing  on 
cabin-roof  over  minister  preaching.  Strange  Sabbath  proces 
sion.  The  miner  bred  a  planter  in  Virginia.  Liberates  his  ser 
vants.  Merchant.  Converted.  Losses.  Removal  to  the  mines. 
Second  experience.  Trials.  Triumphs. 

CHAPTER    V. 

THE  CONTRAST, 265 

"Who  shall  deliver  me  from  the  body  of  this  death?  I 
thank  God  through  Jesus  Christ  our  Lord."  Two  classes  — 
Bond  and  Free.  One  class  asks  the  question,  Who  shall  de 
liver  me,  &c.  The  other  asks  and  answers  it,  "I  thank  God, 
&c.  Difference.  How  it  comes.  Jesus  a  present  Saviour  to 
the  one.  Not  to  the  other.  THE  CRIPPLE.  His  fall  from  a 
frame.  Spine  injured  and  lower  limbs  paralyzed.  His  con 
version.  Earns  his  living  by  the  needle.  His  loneliness.  His 
second  experience  and  happiness.  The  disciples  before  Pen 
tecost  and  after  Pentecost. 

CHAPTER   VI. 

THE     HARMONY. 

DANGER,  DUTY  AKD  DELIGHT,  OR  THE  CUMULATIVE   PROGRESS 
AND  CUMULATIVE  POWER  OF  CHRISTIAN  EXPERIENCE, 181 

"  The  fear  of  the  Lord  is  the  beginning  of  wisdom.*' 
*'  Thy  statutes  have  been  my  songs  in  the  house  of  my  pil 
grimage." 

'*  Ye  shall  receive  power  after  that  the  Holy  Ghost  is  come 
upon  you ;  and  ye  shall  be  witnesses  unto  me  in  Jerusalem, 
and  in  all  Judea,  and  in  Samaria,  and  unto  the  uttermost 
part  of  the  earth."  ^ 


XIV  CONTENTS. 

Harmony  of  the  Law  and  the  Gospel.  Their  Power  combines. 
LEGII  RICHMOND,  the  preacher  without  experience.  Under  con 
viction.  Converted.  FELIX  NEFF.  Advancing  experience,  not 
a  chain  :— like  a  tree,  stronger  as  well  as  taller.  DR.  PAYSON. 
AN  ORIENTAL  PRINCE  AND  HIS  CAPTIVE-  As  a  captive  —  as  a 
servant  —  as  a  son.  Christian's  power  as  a  witness  for  Jesus. 
The  weak  strong  one.  Miss.  SUSAN  ALLIBONE.  The  AGED 
YOUTHFUL  ONE.  At  eighty,  visits  a  whole  town.  A  revival. 
At  eighty-two,  visits  every  house  in  another  town.  His  faith. 
His  works.  Forty  years  of  barrenness  weighed  against  two 
of  usefulness. 

CAHPTER  VII. 

GATHERING  POWER  OF  THE  CHURCH  FORESHADOWED, 307 

Octogenarian  and  others,  types  of  the  whole  church  of  the  fu 
ture.  Time  at  hand.  POPULARIZATION.  Knowledge.  Ap 
prentices  and  school  boys.  Watt,  Fulton,  Copernicus,  New 
ton.  Servants  and  masters.  Light  our  artist.  Lightning 
our  spokesman.  Scene  at  Old  South,  Boston.  Ear  trumpets. 
New  life  from  words  of  Dudley  Tyng.  New  life  from  new 
consecration.  S.  S.  Teacher  s  Meeting  Parlor  fire-side.  Par 
lor  gathering.  Young  Missionary  Fewer  of  combination. 
Power  of  faith.  Power  of  a  present  Saviour 

CHAPTER  VIII 

CLOSING  COUNSELS  AND  PARTING  WORDS.    THE  WAY  OF  IT.O- 

GRESS.    DANGERS  AND  DIFFICULTIES, 33K 

Must  get  beyond  the  watchman.  Find  Christ  and  hold  him. 
In  Christ  and  all  will  go  well.  Abide  in  Christ,  —  How  ?  As 

we  received  him.  Humbly.  All  in  all.  FATHER  A .  "  Burn 

the  bridge  !"  Keeping  the  words  of  Christ.  Instructions  to 
young  converts. 


THE  HIGHER  CHRISTIAN  LIFE, 
PART  I. 


WHAT  IT  IS. 


ABIDING   UNION    WITH   JESUS. 

"ABIDE   IN    ME.'' 

"  That  mystic  word  of  thine,  0  sovereign  Lord, 

Is  all  too  pure,  too  high,  too  deep  for  me; 

Weary  with  striving,  and  with  longing  faint, 

I  breathe  it  back  again  in  prayer  to  thee, 

Abide  in  me  —  o'ershadow  by  thy  love 

Each  half-formed  purpose,  and  dark  thought  of  sin, 

Quench  ere  it  rise,  each  selfish,  low  desire, 

And  keep  my  soul,  as  thine,  calm  and  divine. 

As  some  rare  perfume  in  vase  of  clay 

Pervades  it  with  a  fragrance  not  its  own  — 

So,  when  thou  dwellest  in  a  mortal  soul, 

All  heaven's  own  sweetness  seems  around  it  thrown. 

The  soul  alone,  like  a  neglected  harp, 

Grows  out  of  tune,  and  needs  that  Hand  divine; 

Dwell  thou  within  it,  tune  and  touch  the  chord, 

Till  every  note  and  string  shall  answer  thine. 

Abide  in  me  :  there  have  been  moments  pure, 

When  I  have  seen  thy  face  and  felt  thy  power; 

Then  evil  lost  its  grasp,  and  passion  hushed  — 

Owned  the  divine  enchantment  of  the  hour, 

These  were  but  seasons  beautiful  and  rare ; 

ABIDE  in  me  —  and  they  shall  ever  be; 

I  pray  thee  now  fulfil  my  earnest  prayer. 

Come  and  abide  in  me;  and  I  in  thee." 


PA 


RT     I. 


INTRODUCTORY  CHAPTER. 


THE    BOOK    WANT  E  D. 

"  PRErARE    YE    THE    WAY    OF    THE    PEOPLE."  —  ISAIAH    LXII.  10. 

SOME  disciples  of  Christ  live,  life-long,  under  con 
demnation,  and  know  no  better.  They  are  always 
doubting,  and  think  they  must  always  doubt.  And 
very  many  live  a  life  of  ups  and  downs,  and  sup 
pose  that  to  be  the  best  God  has  in  store  for  them 
while  in  the  body.  Occasionally  they  gain  some  look 
out  in  the  mount,  and  then,  through  the  swaying 
branches  of  the  trees  of  life  moved  by  the  breath 
of  heaven,  they  catch  glimpses  of  the  river  of  the 
waters  of  life,  gleaming  in  the  rays  of  the  Sun  of 
Righteousness,  and  are  filled  with  gladness.  But 
then  again,  soon  they  find  themselves  in  the  low 
grounds  of  unbelief,  wrapped  up  in  fogs  of  doubt, 
and  chilled,  and  poisoned,  by  the  mist  and  malaria 

15 


16  THE   HIGHER    CHRISTIAN   LIFE. 

of  worldly  cares  and  worldly  company.  To  all 
these,  a  book  which  should  bring  the  knowledge,  as 
really  reliable  and  true,  that  there  is  actually,  a 
sunny  side  of  the  Christian  life  —  such  an  experi 
mental  knowledge  of  Jesus,  as  would  place  the  soul, 
at  a  vineyard  on  the  southern  slope,  under  the  sun 
and  the  rain  of  heaven,  to  blossom  and  ripen  its  lus 
cious  fruit  in  abundance  for  the  glory  of  the  Mas 
ter  —  Ah,  how  such  a  book  would  be  hailed  as  glad 
tidings  from  God ! 

Many  have  heard  or  read  upon  this  subject,  and 
do  really  believe  there  is  something  better  than  they 
have  found,  but  are  afraid.  They  are  convinced 
that  there  is  something  in  it,  but  they  fear  to  try  to 
find  oat  what  it  is.  They  are  earnest  Christians 
too,  and  would  gladly  go  on  out  of  the  wilderness  of 
doubt  and  perplexity  if  they  dared  to  venture. 
They  see  that  there  is  a  land  of  milk  and  honey 
offered  by  the  promises  of  God,  and  would  press  for 
it,  but  alas,  the  spies  bring  back  a  bad  report  of  the 
land,  "  Hard  to  gain,"  say  they.  "  Cities  walled  up 
to  heaven.  Giants  in  the  land,  sons  of  Anak." 
"  Hard  to  keep,  even  if  conquered."  Fear  chimes  in 
with  this,  and  so  they  shrink  back.  Or  they  fear 
heresy  and  wildfire.  So  much  has  been  written 
about  "  perfection  "  and  "  sanctification  "  in  con 
flict  with  the  Bible  and  church  standards,  and  so 
many  have  made  shipwreck,  and  run  wild,  that  the 
spectres  of  grim  and  ghastly  errors  rise  up  to  affright 


WANTS   OF  STRUGGLING    ONES.  17 

them  from  the  very  first  step.  Now  a  book  which 
should  clearly  point  out  what  is  warranted  by  the 
Bible  and  the  standards,  and  show  it  in  plain  and 
full  contrast  with  what  is  condemned  by  them, 
would  be  hailed  by  such  persons  as  an  angel  mes 
senger  from  heaven,  beckoning  them  onward  and 
upward  to  the  land  of  Beulah. 

A  few,  at  least,  probably  more  than  any  one 
knows  or  thinks,  are  convinced,  and  feeling  after 
something  they  scarce  know  what,  whatever  it  is, 
set  before  them ;  but  they  move  fearfully,  spec 
tres  affright  and  hinder,  but  do  not  wholly  stop 
them.  Or  if  they  urge  their  way  regardless  of 
these,  their  struggles  are  wearisome  and  vain. 
Often  and  often  they  put  forth  the  hand  to  touch  the 
spring  of  the  door,  to  admit  the  light,  but  alas, 
the  hand  finds  only  the  cold  dead  wall,  and  re 
coils  from  it  with  a  chill,  only  to  be  stretched  forth 
again  and  again,  to  be  withdrawn  in  disappoint 
ment.  With  what  untold  joy,  would  these  strug 
gling,  groping  ones,  receive  and  devour  a  book 
which  should  show  up  to  them,  the  Way,  the  Truth, 
the  Life,  and  point  out  also  the  many  false  ways 
they  must  avoid  to  gain  the  true,  and  walk  in  it ! 

Some  have  already  found  the  way,  and  are  glad 
jeurneyers  therein.  They  are  on  the  sunny  side  ;  they 
have  gained  the  heights  of  Beulah,  and  delight  in 
everything  that  relates  to  it.  They  would  rejoice  in 
anything  defining  to  them  distinctly  the  relations  of 


18  THE   HIGHER  CHRISTIAN   LIFE. 

this  blessed  Christian  life  to  further  Christian  pro 
gress,  and  to  all  Christian  duty.  And  moreover, 
they  would  be  thankful  to  God  for  a  Book,  which 
they  could  safely  put  into  the  hands  of  others,  hope 
ful  of  good,  fearless  of  evil.  One  they  could  heart 
ily  commend  as  unfolding  the  fullness  of  the  blessings 
of  the  Gospel,  without  feeling  under  the  necessity 
of  cautioning  and  warning  against  false  theories, 
wrong  terms,  or  evil  tendencies. 

The  Book  wanted,  therefore,  in  this  department 
of  sacred  literature,  is  one  that  will  set  forth  the 
truth  as  it  is,  with  the  clear  ring  of  the  fearless  sil 
ver  trumpet,  in  no  uncertain  sound. 

Whether  this  shall'  prove  the  Book  wanted, 
God  knoweth,  time  will  show,  and  the  reader  will 
judge. 


CHAPTER  11. 


HISTORICAL  EXAMPLE. 
"LIFT  UP  A  STANDARD  FOR  THE  PEOPLE."— ISAIAH  LXII.  10. 

THE  Bible  abounds  in  examples.  In  God's  Holy 
Word  sin  and  holiness  come  up  and  pass  on  before 
us  in  living  forms,  rather  than  in  abstract  teachings. 
Truth  and  falsehood  are  first  lived  out,  and  then  re 
corded  for  the  world's  instruction.  The  mercies 
and  judgments  of  God  are  set  before  us  in  striking 
examples.  The  rescue  of  Noah  saved  amidst  the 
desolations  of  a  world  drowned  in  the  flood ;  Lot, 
delivered  from  the  devouring  fires  which  laid  in 
ashes  Sodom  and  Gomorrah ;  the  children  of  Is 
rael  passing  the  Red  Sea  dry-shod  and  safe,  ^hile  Pha 
raoh  and  his  host  sank  as  lead  in  the  mighty  waters  ; 
these  things  have  filled  the  world  with  their  report 
and  taught  all  nations  their  lessons.  Men  and  na 
tions  are  raised  up,  live  out  their  life,  and  die,  and 
their  history  is  written  to  live  forever.  Lessons 
taught  in  this  way  strike  out  and  traverse  the  globe, 
and  strike  home  never  to  be  forgotten.  There  is  no 

19 


20  THE   HIGHER    CHRISTIAN   LIFE. 

treatise  upon  faith  like  the  simple  story  of  Abra 
ham's  life  :  none  upon  patience  like  the  story  of  Job : 
none  upon  courage  like  the  story  of  Daniel :  none 
upon  meekness  like  the  life  of  Moses :  none  upon 
zeal  like  the  life  of  Paul :  none  upon  love  like  the 
story  of  Jesus.  This  is  God's  method,  and  the  best. 
Take  a  few  examples  of  The  Higher  Life,  or  Full 
Trust  and  Full  Salvation.  First, 

MARTIN     LUTHER. 

When  a  little  boy,  Martin  carried  the  faggots  for 
his  father,  John  Luther,  to  kindle  the  fire  in  his  lit 
tle  iron  smelting  furnace,  in  Germany.  God  de 
signed  him  to  become  the  bearer  of  fuel  for  his  own 
great  fire  of  the  Reformation,  to  smelt  the  hearts  of 
millions  and  re-cast  the  life  of  the  world.  But  as 
yet  this  boy's  own  heart  and  his  own  life  were  in  the 
crude  and  corrupt  state  of  nature,  hard  and  un- 
maleable  as  the  ore  of  the  mine  and  as  full  of  im 
purities,  to  be  expelled  only  by  the  fires  of  Divine 
love.  His  mother  loved  and  pitied  and  indulged 
him,  bTit  his  father  was  severe  and  never  spared  the 
rod.  That  he  was  not  an  angel  in  his  youth  we  may 
know,  for  he  tells  of  himself  that  he  was  whipped 
fifteen  times  in  one  day  in  his  first  school.  But  all 
this  did  not  beat  grace  into  his  heart,  though  it  may 
have  beaten  letters  into  his  head.  He  made  bril 
liant  progress  in  study,  and  at  twenty  years  of  age 
received  his  degree  at  the  university  as  a  Bachelor 


UNIVERSITY 
21 


of  Arts.  Up  to  this  time  his  heart  was  in  the 
world.  His  father  designed  him  for  the  law,  and 
his  own  ambition  no  doubt  aspired  to  the  honors 
within  easy  reach  in  that  line  of  life.  God  designed 
otherwise.  Just  at  that  critical  time  when  the  very 
next  step  would  be  the  first  in  a  life-long  profession, 
one  of  his  fellow  students  dear  to  him  as  a  brother 
beloved,  one  Alexis,  was  assassinated.  The  report 
of  this  tragic  affair  coming  to  Luther's  ear,  he  hur 
ried  to  the  spot  and  found  it  even  so.  Often  before, 
conscience,  and  the*  spirit  in  his  heart,  had  urged 
him  to  a  religious  life,  in  preparation  for  death  and 
the  judgment.  And  now,  as  he  stood  gazing  upon 
the  bloody  corpse  of  his  dear  friend  Alexis,  and 
thought  how  in  a  moment,  prepared  or  unprepared, 
he  had  been  summoned  from  earth,  he  asked  him 
self  the  question,  "  What  would  become  of  me  if  / 
were  thus  suddenly  called  away  ?  " 

This  was  in  A.  D.  1505,  in  summer.  Taking  ad 
vantage  of  the  summer's  vacation,  Luther,  now  in  his 
twenty-first  year,  paid  a  visit  to  Mansfeldt  the  home 
of  his  infancy.  Even  then  the  purpose  of  a  life  of 
devotion  was  forming  in  his  heart,  but  not  yet  ripen 
ed  into  full  and  final  decision.  The  only  life  of  re 
ligion  known  to  him,  and  at  all  meeting  his  convic 
tions,  was  that  of  the  convent,  the  life  of  a  monk  and 
a  priest.  Whether  it  was  because  the  purpose  was 
only  yet  in  embryo,  or  because  he  dreaded  his  fath 
er's  displeasure,  or  shrunk  from  dashing  his  father's 


2  THE    HIGHER    CHRISTIAN   LIFE. 

hopes  and  giving  him  pain,  it  seems  he  kept  the  mat 
ter  back.  The  fire  burned  on  in  his  own  breast,  but 
the  young  Bachelor  of  Arts  kept  it  hidden,  even 
from  those  most  deeply  interested  in  him  of  all  upon 
earth. 

On  his  way  back  to  the  university,  however,  he 
was  overtaken  by  a  terrific  storm.  "  The  thunder 
roared,"  says  D'Aubigne  ;  "  a  thunderbolt  sunk  into 
the  ground  by  his  side  ;  Luther  threw  himself  on 
his  knees  ;  his  hour  is  perhaps  come.  Death,  judg 
ment,  eternity,  are  before  him  in  all  their  terrors, 
and  speak  with  a  voice  which  he  can  no  longer  re 
sist.  '  Encompassed  with  the  anguish  and  terror  of 
death,'  as  he  says  of  himself, '  he  makes  a  vow,  if 
God  will  deliver  him  from  this  danger,  to  forsake 
the  world,  and  devote  himself  to  his  service.'  Risen 
from  the  earth,  having  still  before  his  eyes  that  death 
must  one  day  overtake  him,  he  examines  himself 
seriously,  and  inquires  what  he  must  do.  The 
thoughts  that  formerly  troubled  him  return  with  re 
doubled  power.  He  has  endeavored,  it  is  true,  to 
fulfill  all  his  duties.  But  what  is  the  state  of  his 
soul  ?  Can  he,  with  a  polluted  soul,  appear  before 
the  tribunal  of  so  terrible  a  God  ?  He  must  become' 
holy" — for  this  he  will  go  into  the  cloister,  he  will 
enter  a  convent,  he  will  become  a  monk  and  a  priest 
in  the  Augustinean  order.  He  will  there  become 
holy  and  be  saved. 

This  scene  has  been  compared  to  that  on  the  Da- 


ENTERS  THE  CONVENT.  23 

mascus  road  centuries  before,  and  they  are  not  with 
out  certain  similarities,  both  in  the  men,  and  in 
the  circumstances  and  results.  But  there  were 
broad  differences :  for  while  Saul  of  Tarsus  was  re 
lieved  of  his  blindness  after  only  three  days  of  dark 
ness  and  desolation,  Luther  had  yet  before  him 
months  and  months  of  monastic  groping,  before  his 
eyes  were  opened  to  receive  the  Lord  Jesus  as  the 
All  in  All.  And  while  at  the  word  of  Ananias  the 
scales  fell  from  the  eyes  of  the  young  devotee  of  Ju 
daism  at  once,  in  a  moment, — the  eyes  of  the  young 
devotee  of  Romanism  were  opened,  not  entirely  at 
the  first  touch  of  the  Master's  fingers,  but  rather 
like  him  who  first  saw  only  men  as  trees*  walking, 
and  afterwards,  when  touched  again,  saw  clearly. 

It  was  a  terrible  blow  to  his  parents  when  Luther 
entered  the  convent  at  Erfurth,  and  an  astonishment 
to  all  his  friends,  and,  as  it  proved  in  the  end,  a 
painful  experiment,  and  a  vain  one,  to  gain  salvation. 
Christ  alone  could  pardon  sin,  but  Luther  had  that  yet 
to  learn.  He  thought  to  merit  salvation.  Christ 
alone  is  the  sinner's  righteousness  and  sanctification , 
but  he  fully  believed  the  way  to  become  holy  and 
just,  was  to  shut  himself  up  within  holy  walls, 
amongst  a  holy  brotherhood,  and  perform  holy 
offices.  God  designed  him  to  be  the  foremost  re 
former  of  the  Church,  and  therefore  led  him  through 
all  the  processes  of  the  Church,  to  show  him  their 
emptiness  and  vanity :  led  him  at  last  to  Rome  itself 


24  THE   HIGHER   CHRISTIAN  LIFE. 

and  made  him  see  the  blasphemous  hollowness  of 
all  its  ceremonies,  and  the  vile  corruption  of  the 
men  he  held  in  such  veneration.  But  it  is  no  part 
of  our  design  now  to  follow  him  through  all  this 
wearisome  course,  or  to  recount  the  painful  revela 
tions  of  vanity  and  corruption  made  to  him  step  by 
step  as  he  was  led  along.  It  is  rather  with  Luther's 
experience  as  a  Christian  than  as  a  Reformer,  that 
our  present  purpose  is  concerned.  The  object  be 
fore  us  is  to  see  how  the  Lord  brought  him  out  of 
bondage  into  liberty,  and  out  of  darkness  into  light, 
and  brought  him  at  last  out  of  church  processes, 
and  out  of  the  ways  of  his  own  devising,  to  take  the 
Lord  Jesu's  as  the  all  in  all,  rather  than  to  show  how 
he  was  trained  to  break  the  bondage  and  dispel  the 
darkness  of  an  enslaved  and  benighted  church. 

Buried  in  the  convent  at  Erfurth  he  toiled  and 
suffered  two  terrible  years  in  vain  for  salvation.  He 
became  emaciated,  pale,  hollow-eyed,  downcast, 
hopeless.  The  lovely  and  noble  Staupitz,  Yicar 
General  and  head  of  the  Augustine  order  in  Thurin- 
gia,  was  the  first  to  shed  any  ray  of  light  upon  the 
dark  and  troubled  mind  of  Luther.  Staupitz  pointed 
Luther  to  the  word  of  God  and  to  the  grace  of 
Christ,  and  inspired  him  with  some  gleams  of  hope, 
that  hope  might  some  time  be  his.  But  although 
the  floods  of  wrath  from  the  windows  of  heaven 
were  stayed,  and  the  fountains  of  hell  from  beneath 
were  closed,  the  waters  gone  over  him  had  not  yet 


LUTHER  BORN  AGAIN.  25 

subsided,  the  dove  of  peace  found  yet  no  resting 
place  in  his  soul,  and  the  bow  of  the  covenant  of 
promise  had  not  yet  sprung  forth  to  his  view.  In 
deed  his  struggles  and  watchings  and  fastings 
brought  him  to  the  brink  of  the  grave.  He  was 
seized  with  an  illness  that  threatened  his  life.  One 
day  a  venerable  monk  came  into  his  cell.  Luther 
opened  his  heart  to  him.  Despair  had  seized  upon 
him.  The  pains  of  hell  gat  hold  of  him.  The 
good  old  man  pointed  him  to  his  credo.  Luther  had 
learned  the  apostle's  creed  in  his  childhood,  and  had 
said  it  over  thousands  of  times,  but  when  the  monk 
repeated  to  him  in  the  tones  of  a  sincere  faith  the 
words,  "  I  believe  in  the  forgiveness  of  sins"  they 
carried  a  light  and  a  consolation,  never  before  felt, 
to  the  sufferer's  soul.  "Ah  !  "  said  the  monk,  "  you 
must  believe  not  merely  that  David's  sins  or  Peter's 
are  forgiven ;  the  devils  believe  that.  The  com 
mandment  of  God  is,  that  we  believe  our  own  sins 
are  forgiven.  St.  Bernard  says,  in  his  discourse  on 
the  annunciation,  '  The  testimony  of  the  Holy  Ghost 
to  your  heart  is  Thy  sins  are  forgiven  thce.'  " 

Luther  believed,  and  joy  filled  his  soul.  Ho  rose 
quickly  from  the  depths  of  despair  and  from  the 
bed  of  sickness.  Life  from  the  dead  was  given  him 
in  a  two-fold  sense.  The  forgiveness  of  sins  was 
ever  after  a  living  article  in  his  faith,  and  not  a 
dead  letter  in  the  apostles'  creed.  He  knew  and 
was  a  witness  to  others  that  the  greatest  sinner  may 


26  THE   HIGHER.    CHRISTIAN   LIFE. 

be  forgiven.  But  as  yet,  the  great  underlying 
principle  of  justification  by  faith,  was  to  him  one  of 
the  deep  and  hidden  things  of  God.  The  noble 
Staupitz  and  the  good  old  Monk  already  before  him, 
knew  as  much  as  Luther  had  now  learned,  and 
more.  And  all  this  Luther  himself  might  have 
known,  and  yet  lived  a  monk  all  his  days.  But  God 
had  greater  things  in  store  for  him,  and  greater  les 
sons  to  teach  him.  All  this  and  more  he  might 
ha.ve  taught  life-long,  with  the  burning  zeal  of  a 
Paul,  and  the  commanding  eloquence  of  an  Apollos, 
without  causing  the  foundation  oPRome  to  tremble, 
or  freeing  the  church  from  a  single  fetter  or  chain, 
and  without  even  enjoying  himself,  the  liberty  of 
the  children  of  God,  or  the  blessings  of  full  trust 
and  full  salvation.  Mark  what  follows. 

The  assassination  of  the  dear  Alexis  had  awakened 
him.  The  thunderbolt  on  the  Erfurth  road,  struck 
the  death  blow  of  his  indecision,  and  Staupitz  and 
the  good  Monk  with  his  credo  and  his  faith,  had 
shed  the  first  rays  and  comforts  of  salvation  upon 
his  pathway.  This  was  all  they  could  do.  For  all 
this  God  used  them,  but  now  he  was  about  to  make 
his  own  Holy  word  the  means  of  leading  Luther  out 
into  the  light,  and  onward  into  the  open  field  of 
truth  not  yet  reached  by  either  the  prelate  or  the 
monk.  Luther  had  no  Bible.  He  had  access  to 
one  in  Latin  chained  to  a  stone  pillar  in  the  convent, 
a  striking  emblem  of  the  Bible  at  that  day.  Locked 


LUTHER  AND  THE  BIBLE.  27 

up  in  a  dead  language,  and  chained  to  a  cold  mon 
astic  pillar  of  dead  stone.  And  yet  thank  God 
neither  itself  dead  nor  yet  bound.  Another  Bible 
he  could  see  also  in  the  Latin  by  going  to  the  library 
of  the  University  to  read  it.  That  was  the  first  copy 
of  the  Bible  he  ever  saw,  and  the  first  word  of  the 
Bible  he  ever  read,  from  the  Bible  itself,  was  the 
story  of  Hannah  and  her  child  Samuel  lent  to  the 
Lord  forever,  and  this  charmed  him.  Yet  another 
copy  of  the  sacred  word  was  within  his  reach  by  going 
to  a  brother  monk's  cell  to  read  it,  in  Latin  also.  A 
Bible  all  his  own,  was  a  prize  too  great  for  his  fond 
est  dreams.  And  yet  God  gave  him  one.  Staupitz 
brought  him  a  Bible,  a  Latin  Bible,  and  presented  it 
to  him  to  be  all  his  own.  0,  what  a  treasure.  How 
eagerly  he  searched  it.  What  delight  it  gave  him. 
That  was  the  first  stone  of  his  great  work.  That 
Latin  Bible  was  all  his  own,  and  he,  albeit  he  knew 
it  not,  was  called  of  God,  and  was  yet  to  undo  the 
Latin  bolts  and  bars,  and  break  in  sunder  the  mo 
nastic  chains,  and  give  a  good  honest  German  liberty 
to  the  blessed  Word  of  God,  and  bring  home  its  hal 
lowed  light  to  thousands  of  darkened  hearths  and 
homes,  and  to  millions  of  benighted  souls.  He 
himself  was  first  to  learn  from  it  the  fulness  of  the 
blessings  of  the  gospel  of  peace,  and  then  become 
the  foremost  Bible  teacher  of  the  world. 

Soon  he  was  ordained  a  priest,  and  then  very 
soon  appointed  professor  of  philosophy  in  the  Uni- 


28  THE    HIGHER   CHRISTIAN   LIFE. 

versity  of  Wittemberg.  Staupitz  recommended  him 
to  Frederick,  Elector  of  Saxony,  and  the  Elector 
sent  him  his  commission.  At  once  besides  the 
duties  of  his  own  professorship,  he  began  giving 
lectures  during  an  unoccupied  hour,  upon  the  Bible, 
first  upon  the  Psalms,  then  upon  Romans.  It  was 
a  new -thing  under  the  sun.  His  lectures  were 
clear,  warm,  stirring,  eloquent,  powerful.  His  fame 
spread  out.  Students  gathered  in.  Soon  by  ap 
pointment  of  the  Elector,  and  by  the  persuasion  of 
Staupitz,  and  by  the  hand  of  Carlstadt  he  was  made 
"  Doctor  in  Theology,"  Biblical  doctor,  and  sworn 
to  defend  the  gospel  with  all  his  strength.  Now  at 
last  he  was  in  the  very  chair,  and  the  very  work 
designed  for  him  from  the  first. 

But  these  are  the  events  of  his  outward  life.  The 
life  within  is  that  which  concerns  us.  We  have 
seen  how  Luther  came  to  the  faith  of  the  forgiveness 
of  sins.  We  will  now  trace  the  steps  of  his  final 
and  full  freedom  of  soul  through  faith  in  the  Lord 
Jesus.  One  day,  while  studying  Romans  for  a  lecture 
to  the  students,  the  words  of  the  prophet  Habakkuk 
as  quoted  by  Paul,  Rom.  1: 17 — "  The  just  shall 
live  by  faith"  struck  their  light  through  his  soul. 
Here  was  the  grand  principle  of  life  and  righteous 
ness.  He  saw  it,  grasped  it,  exulted  in  it,  and 
began  teaching  it  with  all  the  force  and  fire  of  his 
eloquence  and  genius.  There  were,  it  is  true,  ap 
plications  of  this  great  principle  which  he  was  not 


JOURNEY  TO   ROME  —  ILLNESS.  29 

yet  prepared  to  see,  or  to  make,  both  to  the  church 
arid  to  his  own  heart  and  life.  But  the  principle  of 
justification  by  faith  was  no  longer  a  hidden  one  to 
him,  and  it  infused  a  new  life  and  a  new  power  into 
his  soul  and  his  teachings.  He  applied  it  with  sun 
beam  clearness  to  the  forgiveness  of  sins.  He  saw 
how  God  could  be  just,  and  yet  justify  him  that 
belicveth  in  Jesus,  however  great  his  sins  might  be. 
Selected  not  long  after  to  represent  seven  convents 
in  matter  of  difference  between  them  and  the  Vicar 
General,  at  the  court  of  the  Roman  Pontiff  he  set 
off,  led  by  the  hand  of  God  into  Rome  itself,  to  wit 
ness  with  his  own  eyes  and  ears  the  blasphemous 
hollowness,  and  putrid  corruptions  of  the  church. 
On  the  way  he  was  again  taken  ill,  and  again 
brought  to  look  down  into  the  grave  and  up  to  the 
Judgment  Bar  of  God.  His  sins  troubled  him.  The 
old  Erfurth  horror  of  darkness  returned  upon  him. 
But  in  the  midst  of  it  the  words  of  the  prophet, 
"  The  just  shall  live  by  faith  "  came  again  to  him 
with  a  new  force  and  filled  him  with  the  light  of 
heaven.  And  yet  again,  while  looking  upon  the 
ruins  of  ancient  Rome,  and  almost  overwhelmed  by 
the  conviction  that  the  Rome  which  then  was  would 
one  day  be  also  in  ruins,  the  holy  city  would  pass 
away,  lie  in  ashes,  the  same  words  came  to  his  relief 
and  comfort  again,  "  The  just  shall  live  by  faith." 
The  church  shall  live  though  Rome  should  die. 
Christ  lives,  and  the  gates  of  hell  shall  never  pre- 


30  THE   HIGHER   CHRISTIAN  LIFE. 

vail  against  his  church.  Luther  had  not  yet  learned 
to  take  the  Lord  Jesus  for  his  sanctification.  He 
had  one  process  for  the  forgiveness  of  sins,  that  of 
faith,  and  another  for  the  pursuit  of  holiness,  that 
of  works.  He  believed  in  Jesus,  and  trusted  that 
for  the  sake  of  Jesus  who  had  died,  and  risen  again 
for  his  justification,  his  sins  were  all  freely  forgiven. 
But  he  longed  for  a  holy  heart  and  a  holy  life,  and 
sought  them  by  means  not  by  faith.  The  truth  that 
Jesus  is  all  to  the  sinner,  that  in  Jesus  he  has  all  if 
he  takes  him  for  all,  he  had  not  yet  perceived. 
Christ  a  propitiation  he  accepted,  but  Christ  a  sanc 
tification  he  rejected.  Strange  that  having  Christ, 
and  believing  in  him,  and  having  in  him  the  foun 
tain  of  holiness,  indeed  our  own  holiness,  just  as 
really  and  fully  as  he  is  our  own  sacrifice  for  sin, 
we  should  go  about  to  work  out,  or  seek  for  holiness 
of  heart  imparted  to  us  from  God  aside  from,  not  in 
Christ.  Yet  so  it  is.  So  it  was  with  Luther.  At 
Rome  he  performed  all  holy  offices,  and  visited 
every  sacred  place,  hungering  arid  thirsting  after 
righteousness.  One  day  he  sought  to  secure  a 
special  indulgence  promised  to  all  holy  pilgrims  who 
should  climb  Pilate's  stair  case,  so  called,  on  their 
knees.  This  Pilate's  stair  case  was  said  to  have  been 
transported  bodily  by  miracle,  in  the  night,  from 
Jerusalem  to  Rome.  As  Luther  crept  painfully 
from  stone  to  stone  upward,  suddenly  he  heard,  as 
he  thought,  a  voice  of  thunder  in  the  depths  of  his 
heart,  "  The  just  shall  live  by  faith."  These  words 


LUTHER  MADE  COMPLETE  IN  JESUS.  31 

had  often  before  told  him  that  the  just  are  made 
alive  by  faith,  but  now  they  thundered  through  his 
soul  the  truth  that  even  so  "  the  just  shall  live  (be 
kept  alive)  by  faith."  By  faith  they  shall  be  kept 
by  the  power  of  God ;  by  faith  they  shall  make  pro 
gress  onward  and  upward  ;  by  faith  their  sins  shall 
be  forgiven  ;  and  by  faith  their  hearts  and  lives  shall 
be  made  holy. 

Ah  !  well  might  the  historian  say  of  Luther  that 
"  this  was  a  creative  word  for  the  reformer,"  now 
for  the  first  time  he  was  freed  from  all  false  pro 
cesses  of  salvation,  and  fully  established  in  the  true. 
Faith  now,  as  the  condition,  and  Jesus  as  the  salva 
tion  he  saw  was  the  whole.  Full  salvation  was  in 
Jesus,  and  Jesus  was  the  soul's  in  full,  through  full 
trust  in  him.  When  this  word  resounded  in  this 
new  force  through  his  soul,  it  is  no  wonder  that 
Luther  sprang  to  his  feet  upon  the  stone  steps  up 
which  he  had  been  crawling  like  a  worm,  horrified 
at  himself,  and  struck  with  shame  for  the  degrada 
tion  to  which  superstition  had  debased  him,  and  fled 
from  the  scene  of  his  folly.  Luther  himself  says, 
t(  Then  I  felt  myself  born  again  as  a  new  man,  and 
I  entered  by  an  open  door  into  the  very  paradise  of 
God.  From  that  hour  I  saw  the  precious  and  holy 
Scriptures  with  new  eyes.  I  went  through  the 
whole  Bible.  I  collected  a  multitude  of  passages 
which  taught  me  what  the  work  of  God  was.  Truly 
this  text  of  St.  Paul  was  to  me  the  very  gate  of 
heaven." 


CHAPTER  HI. 


EXAMPLES   COMPAKED. 

"YE  ARE  MY  WITNESSES." 

THE  experience  of  Luther  has  been  given  at 
length  because  the  great  reformer  stands  in  fore 
front  of  Protestantism,  a  true  and  noble  type  of  the 
real  ripe,  whole-souled  Christian,  very  much  abridged, 
and  condensed,  however,  from  the  accounts  given  by 
his  biographers.  It  is  entitled  to  great  weight  as  an 
example.  Let  not  its  force  be  broken  by  the  thought 
that  Luther  was  great,  and  a  special  instrument  of 
God  specially  endowed.  So  far  as  salvation  is  con 
cerned,  Luther  stood  with  us  precisely.  He  was  a 
man,  and  a  sinner,  as  we  all  are.  Faith  in  him  and 
in  us  is  the  same  thing,  and  Jesus  is  the  same  to  all 
and  for  all  in  all  time.  The  same  rays  of  the  sun 
of  righteousness  shining  through  the  same  tears  of 
penitence,  cause  the  same  bow  of  the  covenant  to 
arch  the  same  clouds  of  despair,  in  all  ages  and  na 
tions,  and  the  same  eye  of  faith  discerns  the  promise 
and  rests  joyously  upon  it,  in  all  persons,  alike  the 
great  and  the  small. 


MERLE  D'AUBIGNE.  33 

It  will  be  observed  that  Luther's  first  light  and 
comfort  was  in  the  forgiveness  of  sins ;  and  the  last 
and  greatest,  in  the  full  apprehension  of  Christ  as 
his  sanctification.  We  shall  have  occasion  to  see 
the  same  thing  in  every  instance  as  we  go  on.  How 
this  comes  to  pass  we  shall  see  very  clearly  when  we 
come  to  speak  of  the  philosophy  of  Christian  expe 
rience. 

With  some,  the  force  of  Luther's  example  may  be 
broken  by  the  fact  that  he  was  bred  in  all  the  super 
stitions  of  Rome,  and  had  a  second  shell  to  break 
through,  after  he  was  out  of  the  first.  We  will, 
therefore,  take  another  example  :  one  from  the  ranks 
of  those  bred  in  the  full  blaze  of  the  light  of  the 
Protestant  day,  three  centuries  alter  Luther's  time. 


Was  educated  at  Geneva,  the  home  of  Calvin  and 
the  stronghold  of  the  Reformation.  Calvin  himself 
is  not  a  better  representative  of  the  reformed  religion, 
or  a  nobler  champion  than  Merle  D'Aubigne,  the 
famous  historian  of  the  Reformation.  His  conversion 
was  at  Geneva,  while  in  the  university.  The  subse 
quent  deeper  work  was  several  years  later  at  Kiel  in 
Germany.  His  conversion,  together  with  others,  a 
noble  band,  was  by  the  instrumentality  of  one  of  the 
Lord's  Scottish  noblemen,  Robert  Haldane.  In 
some  sort  it  was  the  payment  of  an  old  debt  of  three 
hundred  years'  standing  due  from  Scotland  to 


34 


THE   HIGHER   CHRISTIAN   LIFE. 


Geneva.  Knox,  driven  from  home  by  bloody  perse 
cutions,  found  refuge  three  several  times  in  Geneva, 
and  during  the  years  of  his  stay  there,  while,  doubt 
less,  he  imparted  much  of  his  iron  energy  and  Scot 
tish  firmness  ;  he  certainly  received  much  of  the 
clear  light  of  the  Swiss  mountain  height  so  elevated 
above  the  murky  mists  of  the  Campagna,  the  Tiber 
and  Rome.  Right  eagerly  Robert  Haldane  sought 
to  pay  the  debt,  and  God  helped  him,  as  the  con 
version  of  D'Aubigne,  Monod,  Gunthier,  Gaussin, 
Rieu,  and  many  more  will  testify. 

Dr.  Cheever,  as  quoted  in  the  memoirs  of  R.  &  J. 
A.  Haldane,  speaks  of  D'Aubigne's  conviction  as 
follows : 

"At  this  juncture  it  was  that  D'Aubigne  heard  of 
the  visit  of  Mr.  Haldane.  He  heard  of  him  as  the 
English  or  Scotch  gentleman  who  spoke  so  much 
about  the  Bible,  a  thing  which  seemed  very  strange 
to  him  and  the  other  students  to  whom  the  Bible 
was  a  shut  book.  He  afterwards  met  Mr.  Haldane 
at  a  private  house,  along  with  some  of  his  friends, 
an9  heard  him  read  from  an  English  Bible,  a  chap 
ter  from  the  Epistle  to  the  Romans,  concerning  the 
natural  corruption  of  man,  a  doctrine  in  regard  to 
which  he  had  never  received  any  instruction.  He 
was  astonished  to  hear  of  men  being  corrupt  by  na 
ture,  but  clearly  convinced  by  the  passages  read  to 
him,  he  said  to  Mr.  Haldane,  l  Now  I  do  indeed  see 
this  doctrine  in  the  Bible.'  '  Yes,'  replied  the  good 


D'AUBIGNE  —  RIEU  —  MONOD.  85 

man,  '  but  do  you  see  it  in  your  heart  ? 9  It  was  but 
a  simple  question,  but  it  came  home  to  his  con 
science.  It  was  the  sword  of  the  Spirit ;  and  from 
that  time  he  saw  and  felt  that  his  heart  was  indeed 
corrupted,  and  knew  from  the  Word  of  God  that  he 
could  be  saved  by  grace  alone  in  Jesus  Christ." 

The  conversion  of  D'Aubigne  was  decided,  clear 
and  unmistakable.  He  himself  speaks  of  it  in  his 
"  Travelling  Recollections  in  Germany,  England  and 
Scotland,"  chap.  I.,  §  2.,  in  these  explicit  words,  "I 
had  been  seized  by  the  Word  of  God ;"  (while  at 
the  university  in  Geneva  ;)  "  I  had  believed  in  the 
divinity  of  Christ,  in  original  sin,  the  power  of 
which  I  had  experienced  in  my  own  heart ;  and  in 
justification  by  faith.  I  had  experienced  the  joys  of 
the  new  birth." 

Of  the  later,  deeper  work  he  speaks  more  fully  in 
the  same  connexion  and  just  as  explicitly.  After 
his  conversion  he  completed  his  course  at  the  uni 
versity  at  Geneva,  was  ordained,  went  to  Germany  ; 
pursued  study  still  further,  first  at  Leipsic,  then  at 
Berlin,  and  then  spent  four  years  as  a  pastor  over 
the  French  church  at  Hamburg.  Several  years  had 
thus  fled  before  the  time  came  for  the  Lord  to  give 
him  the  final  full  knowledge  of  Jesus  as  all  in  all. 
It  was  on  this  wise.  At  an  inn,  in  Kiel,  he  had 
planned  and  entered  upon  a  journey  with  two  of  his 
old  Genevan  fellow  students  and  fellow  converts,  to 
Copenhagen.  They  met  at  Kiel,  a  remarkable  trio : 


36  THE   HIGHER   CHRISTIAN   LIFE. 

Rev.  Frederick  Monod  settled  at  Paris  ;  Rev.  Charles 
Rieu,  pastor  of  Fredencia  in  Jutland  ;  and  D'Au- 
bigne.  Steamboats  were  irregular ;  they  waited  at 
the  hotel.  D'Aubigne  was  then  in  the  midst  of  a 
terrible  struggle.  Kiel  was  a  university,  and 
Kleuker,  an  old  champion  of  the  word  and  an  ex 
perienced  Christian  ;  was  Biblical  professor  there. 
D'Aubigne  says,  u  I  called  upon  him  and  requested 
him  to  elucidate  several  passages  of  Scripture  for 
my  satisfaction.*  *  *  *  The  old  doctor  would  not  enter 
into  any  detailed  solution  of  my  difficulties.  '  Were 
I  to  succeed  in  ridding  you  of  them/  he  said  to  me, 
6  others  would  soon  arise  ;  there  is  a  shorter,  deeper, 
more  complete  way  of  annihilating  them.  Let 
Christ  be  really  to  you  the  Son  of  God,  the  Saviour, 
the  Author  of  eternal  life  !  Only  be  firmly  settled 
in  his  grace,  and  then  these  difficulties  of  detail 
will  never  stop  you !  the  light  which  proceeds  from 
Christ  will  disperse  all  your  darkness.'  The  old 
divine  had  shown  me  the  way :  I  saw  it  was  the 
right  one,  but  to  follow  it  was  a  hard  task." 

The  Way.  Yes,  indeed !  and  the  right  one. 
Happy  for  D'Aubigne  that  he  saw  it !  Happy  that 
its  hardness  did  not  keep  him  back  from  it !  While 
they  waited  at  Kiel  for  the  steamboat,  they  devoted 
part  of  the  time  to  reading  the  Word  of  God  to 
gether,  a  pattern  for  all  detained  Christian  travel 
lers.  Rieu  was  chaplain.  D'Aubigne  says  of  him 
that  he  had  even  then  far  outstripped  both  himself 


THE  VICTORY.  37 

and  M.  Monod  in  the  divine  life.  Two  years  after, 
lie  finished  his  brilliant  career  upon  earth  by  a  tri 
umphant  transit  to  heaven.  His  converse  was  very 
sweet.  They  all  three  communicated  their  thoughts 
to  each  other  on  the  Word  of  God,  but  Rieu  brought 
out  the  hidden  riches  of  the  Book  of  God  most 
abundantly. 

"  We  were  studying  the  Epistle  to  the  Ephesians," 
says  D'Aubigne,  "  and  had  got  to  the  end  of  the 
third  chapter.  When  we  read  the  two  last  verses 
'  Now  unto  him  who  is  able  to  do  EXCEEDING  ABUN 
DANTLY  above  all  that  we  ask  or  think,  according  to 
the  power  that  worketh  in  us,  unto  him  be  glory/ 
&c.  This  expression  fell  upon  my  soul  as  a  revela 
tion  from  God.  '  He  can  do  by  his  power,'  I  said 
to  myself,  '  above  all  we  ask,  above  all  even  that 
we  think,  nay,  EXCEEDING  ABUNDANTLY  above  ail ! ' 
A  full  trust  in  Christ  for  the  work  to  be  done 
within  my  poor  heart  now  filled  my  soul.  We 
all  three  knelt  down,  and,  although  I  had  never 
fully  confided  my  inward  struggles  to  my  friends, 
the  prayer  of  Eieu  was  filled  with  such  admirable 
faith,  as  he  would  have  uttered  had  he  known  all 
my  wants.  When  I  arose,  in  that  inn-room  at  Kiel, 
I  felt  as  if  my  4  wings  were  renewed  as  the  wings  of 
eagles.'  From  that  time  forward  I  comprehended 
that  all  my  own  efforts  were  of  no  avail ;  that  Christ 
was  able  to  do  all  by  his  £  power  that  worketh  in  us ;' 
and  the  habitual  attitude  of  my  soul  was  to  lie  at 


00  THE   HIGHER   CHRISTIAN   LIFE. 

tlie  foot  of  the  cross,  crying  to  Him,  <  Here  am  I, 
bound  hand  and  foot,  unable  to  move,  unable  to  do 
the  least  thing  to  get  away  from  the  enemy  who  op 
presses  me.  Do  all  thyself.  I  know  that  thou  wilt 
do  it.  Thou  wilt  even  do  exceeding1  abundantly 
above  all  that  I  ask.' 

"  I  was  not  disappointed ;  all  my  doubts  were  re 
moved,  my  anguish  quelled,  and  the  Lord  *  extended 
to  me  peace  as  a  river.'  Then  I  could  comprehend 
with  all  saints  what  is  the  breadth,  and  length,  and 
depth,  and  height ;  and  know  the  love  of  Christ 
which  passeth  knowledge.  Then  was  I  able  to  say, 
'  Return  unto  thy  rest,  0  my  soul :  for  the  Lord 
hath  dealt  bountifully  with  thee.'  " 


In  these  sketches  of  experience,  nothing  has  been 
said  in  either  case  touching  the  question  of  entire 
instantaneous  sanctification,  or  Christian  perfection. 
Neither  the  great  reformer  or  the  great  historian  of 
the  Reformation  made  any  profession  of  perfection 
themselves.  Indeed  Luther  expressly  disclaims  it, 
and  D'Aubigne  records  the  disclaimer.  Yet  in  both 
the  soul  and  marrow  of  the  full  experience  of  salva 
tion  at  the  last,  was  the  perception  and  the  reception 
of  the  Lord  Jesus  as  their  righteousness  in  the  sense 
of  sanctification,  as  already  before  they  had  taken 
him  as  their  righteousness  in  the  sense  of  justifica 
tion  ;  for  these  senses  are  both  included  in  the  term 
"  righteousness  of  God  "  as  used  by  Paul,  and  ex- 


MANY  OTHER  VICTORS.  39 

ulted  in  by  Luther,  and  in  both  senses  Christ  is 
complete  to  the  believer,  and  in  both,  the  believer 
is  complete  in  Christ.  Luther  and  D'Aubigne  alike 
hungered  after  righteousness,  true  holiness,  and 
either  would  fain  have  satisfied  himself  with  husks 
from  any  hand,  if  he  could,  but  he  could  not.  God 
had  in  store  for  both,  the  true  bread  that  cometh 
do^fii  from  heaven  to  the  full.  Both  struggled  long 
and  manfully,  each  in  his  own  way,  both  in  vain, 
until  each  gave  up  his  own  way,  and  took  the  Lord 
Jesus  as  THE  WAY.  Both  fought  resolutely,  and 
were  foiled  in  every  onset,  and  would  have  fallen  at 
last  slain  and  conquered,  had  not  God  taught  them 
the  sweet  truth  uttered  by  the  loving  disciple,  "  This 
is  the  victory  that  overcometh,  —  even  your  faith." 
By  faith  at  last ;  by  full  trust  in  Jesus,  both  con 
quered  an  abiding  peace,  and  both  gained  the  full 
salvation. 

To  these  examples  scores  upon  scores  might  be 
added  of  the  same  class  ;  those  who  have  given 
themselves  wholly  to  Jesus,  and  taken  Jesus  wholly 
to  themselves,  and  so  found  the  abiding  sunshine, 
and  the  serene  sky  of  full  salvation,  but  who  yet 
make  no  profession  of  perfection,  but  like  Luther  and 
D'Aubigne,  disclaim  it.  The  memoirs  of  the  great 
and  good,,gone  to  their  reward,  abound  in  such, 
and  the  living  witnesses  are  many.  Richard  Baxter, 
Jonathan  Edwards,  Hewitson,  McCheyne,  Mrs.  Ed- 


40  THE   HIGHER   CHRISTIAN   LIFE. 

wards,  Adelaide  Newton,  and  a  host  of  others.  In 
the  Life  and  Times  of  Richard  Baxter,  2  vols.  8  vo. 
London,  a  very  circumstantial  account  is  given  of 
this  great  man's  experience.  Quite  as  distinct  as 
either  Luther's  or  D'Aubigne's,  both  as  to  his  final  full 
apprehension  of  Christ  as  all  in  all,  and  as  to  his 
conversion  years  before.  President  Edwards  him 
self  has  given  to  the  world  a  sketch  as  remarkable 
as  either,  known  to  be  the  experience  of  his  own 
beloved  consort,  one  oi  the  happiest  Christians  that 
ever  lived.  And  in  the  details  he  has  spread  out  of 
his  own  inner  life,  if  the  moments  of  the  first  and 
the  last  great  transitions  are  less  distinctly  traced, 
the  same  fulness  of  faith  at  the  last,  and  the  same 
precious  results  are  as  clearly  seen. 

The  memoirs  of  Hewitson  by  Baily,  and  of  Ade 
laide  Newton  by  the  same,  furnish  each  a  lovely 
instance  also.  Hewitson  describes  a  long  and  severe 
struggle  years  after  his  conversion,  terminating 
finally  in  such  an  apprehension  of  Christ  in  his  ful 
ness,  as  his  righteousness  —  sanctification  —  as  filled 
him  with  heavenly  consolations,  and  abode  with  him 
ever  after. 

But  we  have  no  space  even  for  references  to  each 
of  the  noble  many  in  this  bright  cloud  of  witnesses, 
much  less  for  their  experience  in  detail.  Other 
classes  must  be  compared  with  this  if  we  would  gain 
a  clear  comprehension  of  the  whole  subject.  We 


LUTHERANS-    WESLEYANS  —  OBERLINIANS.          41 

will  call  this  class  THE  LUTHERAN.  Another  may  be 
called  THE  WESLEYAN,  and  a  third  THE  OBERLINIAN. 
The  Wesleyans  received  their  first  light  in  this  mat 
ter,  and  their  first  impulse  from  the  Moravian  breth 
ren  of  Germany.  And  the  Oberlinians  took  their 
terms,  and  some  colors  and  shades  of  view  from  the 
Wesleyans.  Both  use  the  terms,  "perfect  love" 
"  Christian  perfection  "  "  entire  sanctification  "  to 
describe  the  experience  in  question,  and  "  doctrine 
of  sanctification,  or  "  doctrine  of  holiness,"  as  ex 
pressive  of  their  creed  about  it.  The  Oberlinians 
differ  from  the  Wesleyans  in  their  philosophy  of  the 
will  of  man,  and  of  the  law  of  God.  Their  view  of 
the  claims  of  the  law  as  graduated  to  the  sinners 
ability,  enables  them  to  hold  and  profess  perfect 
sanctification  when  they  come  to  yield  wholly  to  the 
known  will  of  God,  and  take  Christ  wholly  as  their 
righteousness  and  true  holiness.  The  Wesleyans 
admit  the  claims  of  the  law  of  God  as  requiring 
absolute  perfection,  like  the  spotless  purity  of  Jesus, 
and  the  holy  angels,  and  make  no  professions  of  it, 
but  only  of  Christian  perfection,  making  a  broad 
distinction  between  Christian  and  angelic  perfection. 
Both  Wesleyans  and  Oberlinians  differ  from  Lu 
therans  in  the  use  of  terms,  and  in  the  theology  of 
the  experience  described,  but  aside  from  this,  in  all 
that  is  essential  in  the  experience  itself  all  are  agreed. 
Of  the  Wesleyans,  the  memoirs  of  Carvasso  are 
clearest  and  simplest  in  the  development  of  the 


42  THE   HIGHER   CHRISTIAN  LIFE. 

experimental  truth.  He  was  a  man  of  God.  His 
faith  was  wonderful,  and  his  views  clear  as  the  light. 
Bramwell  if  less  clear  was  even  more  absorbed  and 
ardent.  Mrs.  Rogers  was  truly  seraphic.  Mrs. 
Fletcher's  memoirs  are  very  fascinating,  as  indeed 
are  all  these  and  many  more  of  this  class.  They 
have  opened  the  eyes  of  thousands  to  the  higher 
walks  of  Christian  life,  and  impelled  tens  of  thou 
sands  to  press  for  the  mark.  But  so  far  as  we  can 
see,  there  is  no  essential  difference  between  the 
experience  they  describe,  and  those  of  Luther  and 
D'Aubigne,  Baxter  and  Edwards.  All  alike  begin 
with  a  sense  of  their  guilt,  and  peril,  and  come 
sooner  or  later  to  a  sense  of  sins  forgiven,  blotted 
out  in  the  blood  of  Jesus,  and  then  again  sooner  or 
later,  in  every  case,  hungering  and  thirsting  for 
true  holiness  is  induced,  and  after  varied  strugglings 
the  issue  in  all  alike,  is  that  of  finding  in  Christ  the 
end  of  the  law  for  sanctification. 

This  unity  will  be  apparent  if  we  place  any  two 
of  them  side  by  side.  Here  for  instance  are  the 
expressions  of  Mrs.  Rogers,  and  of  D'Aubigne  from 
their  own  pens  in  their  own  words,  descriptive  of 
their  own  views  and  feelings  at  the  moment  their 
struggles  were  crowned  with  the  victory  that  over- 
cometh,  viz.,  full  trust  in  Jesus. 


THE   PARALLEL. 


43 


D'AUBIGNE. 

[Pardon  the  repetition,  it  seems 

to  be  necessary.'] 
After  describing  his  conver 
sion  clearly,  and  the  subse 
quent  struggles  and  turn  given 
to  the  current  of  his  desires 
and  efforts,  by  the  counsels  of 
the  good  old  champion  of  the 
faith  Kluker  at  Kiel,  and  the 
scene  at  Inn,  with  his  two  fel 
low  travelers,  Monod  and  Pieu; 
their  reading  in  the  word  of 
God,  the  III  of  Ephesians, 
and  the  power  with  which  the 
two  last  verses  were  set  home 
to  his  heart,  says,  "  When  I 
arose,  in  that  inn-room  at 
Kiel,  I  felt  as  if  my  'wings 
were  renewed  as  the  wings  of 
eagles.'  From  that  time  for 
ward,  I  comprehended  that  my 
own  efforts  were  of  no  avail ; 
that  Christ  was  to  do  all  by 
his  l  power  that  worketh  in 
us,'  and  the  habitual  attitude 
of  my  soul  was  to  lie  at  the 
foot  of  the  cross,  crying  to 
Him,  '  Here  am  I,  bound 
hand  and  foot,  unable  to  move, 
unable  to  do  the  least  thing 
to  get  away  from  the  enemy 
that  oppresses  me.  Do  all 
thyself.  I  know  that  thou 
wilt ;  thou  wilt  even  do  ex 
ceeding  abundantly  above  all 
that  I  ask.' 


MRS.   ROGERS. 

After  all  the  record  of  her 
earlier  contest,  and  earlier  ex 
perience  of  sins  forgiven,  and 
after  describing  her  heart- 
searchings,  doubts,  fears,  de 
sires,  and  efforts  for  true  holi 
ness,  comes  at  last  to  the  mo 
ment  when  she  sees  Christ  to 
be  all  in  all,  and  receives  him- 
Then  she  says,  "  Lord,  my 
soul  is  delivered  of  her  bur 
den.  I  am  emptied  of  all.  I 
am  at  thy  feet,  a  helpless, 
worthless  worm  ;  but  take 
hold  of  thee  as  my  fulness  ! 
Everything  that  I  want,  thou 
art.  Thou  art  wisdom,strength, 
love,  hoiiness  :  yes,  and  thou 
art  mine !  I  am  conquered 
and  subdued  by  love.  Thy 
love  sinks  me  into  nothing;  it 
overflows  my  soul.  O,  my 
Jesus,  thou  art  all  in  all !  In 
thee  I  behold  and  feel  all  the 
fulness  of  the  Godhead  mine. 
I  am  now  one  with  God ;  the 
intercourse  is  open ;  sin,  in 
bred  sin,  no  longer  hinders 
the  close  communion,  and  God 
is  all  my  own.  O,  the  depths 
of  that  solid  peace  my  soul 
now  felt ! " 

And  this,  like  D'Aubigne 
she  describes,  not  merely  as 
the  rapture  of  a  favored  hour, 
but  as  the  habitual  attitude  of 


44 


THE   HIGHER   CHRISTIAN   LIFE. 


the  soul,  at  the  foot  of  the 
cross. 

"  Yea,  Christ  all  in  all  to  me 
And  all  my  heart  is  love." 

".With  every  coming  hour 

I  prove 
His  nature  and  his  name  is 

love." 


I  was  not  disappointed,  all 
my  doubts  were  soon  dispel 
led,  and  not  only  was  I  deliv 
ered  from  that  inward  anguish 
which  in  the  end  would  have 
destroyed  me,  had  not  God 
been  faithful ;  but  the  Lord 
*  extended  peace  to  me  like  a 
river.'  Then  I  could  '  com 
prehend  with  all  saints  what 
is  the  breadth,  and  length,  and 
depth,  and  height,  and  know 
the  love  of  Christ  which  pass- 
eth  knowledge,'"  (filled  with 
all  the  fulness  of  God.) 


Like  David  in  his  expressions  of  love  to  Jonathan 
when  these  dear  friends  parted  in  the  field,  Mrs. 
Rogers  "  excelled  "  in  ardency  of  feelings  and  words, 
but  in  all  that  is  essential  there  is  not  a  single  line 
of  difference.  Both  are  self-emptied,  both  prostrate 
in  the  dust  at  the  foot  of  the  cross ;  both  accept 
Jesus  as  all  in  all,  and  find  themselves  conquerors, 
and  more  than  conquerors  through  faith  in  his 
name. 


OF   THE 

UNIVEKSITT 


CHAPTER  IY. 


EXPLANATIONS. 
THE  FACTS  AND  THE  PHILOSOPHY  OF  THE  FACTS. 

"WISDOM  is  JUSTIFIED  OF  ALL  HER  CHILDREN." 

IN  these  sketches  and  references  the  first  and 
great  fact  is  that  of  full  salvation  through  full  trust 
in  Jesus.  This  fact  needs  no  proof.  It  is  at  once  the 
provision  and  the  demand  of  the  gospel,  and  is  of 
course  the  privilege  and  duty  of  all.  The  Apostle 
Paul  lived  in  it  himself,  and  commended  it.  and  com 
manded  it,  to  others.  The  apostles  and  primitive 
Christians  generally  enjoyed  it  from  the  day  of  Pen 
tecost  onward.  There  were  exceptions  certainly. 
The  Galatians  seem  to  have  been  turned  aside  from 
the  fulness  and  simplicity  of  the  faith.  Having  be 
gun  in  the  spirit,  they  thought  to  be  made  perfect 
by  works,  and  the  apostle  wrote  them  with  all  plain 
ness  and  urgency  of  speech,  to  induce  them  to  look 
to  Christ  and  Christ  alone  for  holiness,  telling  them 
that  he  travailed  in  birth  for  them  again,  until  Christ 
should  be  formed  in  them  the  hope  of  glory.  And 
there  were  other  churches  beside  those  of  Galatia 

46 


46  THE   HIGHER   CHRISTIAN  LIFE. 

where,  through  the  blindness  of  unbelief,  they  failed 
of  the  fulness  of  God.  But,  as  a  general  thing,  we 
hear  only  of  the  same  life  of  faith  in  its  fulness,  and 
fulness  of  joy  in  all,  until  after  the  death  of  all  the 
apostles,  save  John,  and  he  exiled  from  the 
churches  and  shut  up  in  the  lone  Isle  of  Patmos. 
Then,  when  the  apostles  were  gone,  and  the  days  of 
miracles  were  ended,  and  inspired  teaching  ceased 
in  the  churches,  and  Satan  began  to  be  loosed,  — 
then,  in  the  epistles  of  him  who  walks  in  glory 
amidst  the  golden  candlesticks,  we  have  the  first  in 
timation  that  the  light  of  the  candles  was  beginning 
to  grow  dim. 

And  surely  Luther  and  Baxter,  Wesley  and 
D'Aubigne,  full  and  rich  as  their  experience  of 
grace  and  salvation  was,  had  not  outstripped  Peter 
and  John,  Paul  and  Apollos  !  Neither  have  the 
Lutherans,  as  we  have  named  them,  or  the  Wesley- 
ans,  or  Oberlinians,  got  beyond  primitive  Christians  ! 
Nay,  if  we  shall  carry  the  comparison  back  to  the 
bright  cloud  of  witnesses,  who  passed  off  before 
Christ's  coming  upon  earth,  as  they  are  called  up  in 
array  before  us  in  the  beautiful  citation  by  the 
apostle  in  the  eleventh  of  Hebrews,  we  shall  hardly 
find  the  brightest  of  moderns  outstripping  these 
worthies  of  old,  either  in  fulness  of  faith,  or  fulness 
of  salvation.  Going  about,  therefore,  to  prove  that 
there  is  such  an  experience  would  be  but  a  fool's  work ! 
If  any  one  doubts,  with  the  Bible  in  his  hand,  surely 


WHAT  IT  IS  NOT.  47 

the  rushlight  of  any  other  proof  in  the  face  of  this 
noon-day  blaze,  would  go  for  nothing  ! 

Neither  does  this  fact  need  explanation  any  more 
than  it  needs  proof.  It  is  simply  the  result  of 
the  gospel  received  in  its  fulness.  Christ  is  set 
forth  as  all  in  all  for  the  sinner's  salvation,  and 
the  sinner  who  receives  him  as  such,  and  abides 
in  him,  has  full  salvation.  But  there  is  another  fact 
which  should  be  explained  :  the  fact  that  in  the  in 
stances  given,  as  in  others  not  referred  to,  there  is  a 
second  experience,  distinct  from  the  first  —  sometimes 
years  after  the  first  —  and  as  distinctly  marked,  both 
as  to  time  and  circumstances  and  character,  as 
the  first  —  a  second  conversion,  as  it  is  often 
called.  Baxter  speaks  of  this  in  his  case  as  quite  as 
important  as  the  first.  So  does  James  Brain  ard 
Taylor,  and  many  others  also  ;  while  in  such  cases 
as  Luther's  and  D'Aubigne's,  both  the  experience 
and  its  importance  are  so  marked  as  to  speak  for 
themselves.  Some  have  tried  to  account  for  this 
fact  by  denying  the  reality  of  the  first  experience. 
"  These  people  were  deceived,"  say  they,  "and  not 
converted  at  all,  as  they  suppose,  in  the  first  in 
stance." 

But  if  Luther  was  not  converted,  who  then  is  ? 
If  D'Aubigne  was  deceived  in  the  first  instance,  who 
then  is  not  ?  If  to  have  been  convinced  of  the  deep 
depravity  of  the  heart  by  nature,  and  led  to  accept 
Jesus  as  the  Son  of  God  and  Saviour  of  sinners,  and 


48  THE   HIGHER   CHRISTIAN   LIFE. 

to  have  experienced  tlie  joys  of  the  new  birth,  is  not 
to  have  been  really  converted,  but  deceived,  tell  us 
then  what  conversion  is  ?  No,  no  ;  this  supposition 
does  violence  to  truth  and  common  sense  ;  it  will 
not  do.  We  must  have  a  better  solution,  or  none. 

Others  have  thought  to  solve  the  problem  by  call 
ing  the  second  experience  simply  a  return  from 
backsliding.  But  in  each  of  the  cases  given,  we 
have  the  testimony  of  the  witnesses  themselves,  that 
it  was  more  than  this,  a  deeper  work  of  grace,  a 
fuller  apprehension  of  Christ,  a  more  complete  and 
abiding  union  with  him  than  at  the  first.  The  wit 
nesses  themselves  being  judges  in  their  own  case, 
this  solution  is  not  the  true  one.  We  must  go 
deeper  for  it.  Thousands  in  every  age  since  the 
primitive,  have  backslidden  and  returned  again  with 
out  any  such  great  and  permanent  advancement  in 
the  divine  life,  as  that  set  forth  in  the  examples 
before  us.  In  Luther's  experience,  as  he  describes 
it,  there  was  that  which  made  the  Bible  a  new  book 
to  him.  Already,  in  his  conversion,  a  key  had  been 
put  into  his  hand  to  unlock  vast  treasures  of  truth 
in  the  Word  of  God,  but  it  was  only  after  his  final 
and  full  apprehension  of  Christ  as  his  sanctification, 
superadded  to  his  knowledge  of  Christ  in  the  for 
giveness  of  sins,  that  the  abundance  and  wealth 
of  the  Bible  became  the  Reformer's.  And  D' Aubigne 
tells  us  that  after  that  scene  in  the  inn-room  at  Kiel, 
he  went  through  and  through  the  Bible  anew,  gath- 


NOT  MERE  RETURN   FROM  BACKSLIDING.  .         49 

ering  up  innumerable  passages  fall  of  new  signifi 
cance  to  him.  His  description  recalls  another  very 
like  it,  under  like  circumstances.  One  who  had  but 
just  then  passed  through  a  similar  "  second  conver 
sion,"  compared  himself  to  a  child  sent  on  an  errand, 
but  finding  by  the  wayside  so  many  beautiful  flowers 
and  luscious  fruits,  now  on  this  side,  now  on  that, 
inviting  the  hand  to  pluck  them,  as  to  keep  the  child 
busy  all  day  long,  forgetful  of  the  errand.  "  So," 
said  he,  "  has  it  happened  to  me  with  my  Bible.  I 
have  set  out  to  find  some  desired  passage,  and  so 
many  things  beautiful  and  new  have  caught  my  eye 
in  passing  along,  as  to  tempt  me  to  dally,  and  pick, 
and  eat,  and  drink  in  their  sweet  fragrance  all  the 
day  long,  forgetful  of  my  errand.  And  then  too,"  he 
went  on  to  say  "  when  I  kneel  down  to  pray,  praise 
only  swells  my  heart,  for  all  the  glorious  things  of 
Christ."  Ah,  there  is  vastly  more  in  such  an  expe 
rience,  than  mere  return  from  backsliding !  Then, 
too,  above  and  beyond  all  this,  it  is  never  the  return 
ing  blackslider  who  comes  into  the  fulness  of  this 
experience.  Indeed,  if  backsliding  and  returning 
would  really  bring  men  into  this  gospel  fulness,  pity 
but  the  whole  church  would  backslide  and  return. 
It  would  be  a  grand  thing  for  the  cause  of  Christ, 
and  for  their  own  comfort  and  joy.  But  in  point  of 
fact,  in  every  case,  if  the  reader  will  examine,  it  will 
be  seen  that  it  is  only  the  earnest  and  the  active 
Christian,  the  working,  struggling  one,  who  comes 
8 


50  THE   HIGHER   CHRISTIAN   LIFE. 

to  the  knowledge  of  Christ  in  his  fulness.  The 
backslider  returns  only  to  the  point  attained  when 
he  turned  back  at  most,  and  hard  struggling  for 
that !  But  the  work  in  question  is  a  higher  height, 
and  a  deeper  depth,  in  the  comprehension  both  of 
the  love  of  Christ  which  passeth  knowledge,  and  of 
the  way  of  salvation  by  faith. 

Neither  of  these  solutions  is  the  true  one.  The 
true,  however,  is  not  difficult.  Mark  it  well :  It  is 
in  perfect  harmony  with  all  religious  experience. 
What  we  call  experimental  religion,  is  simply  this  : 
The  sinner  is  first  awakened  to  a  realization  of  his 
guilt  before  God,  and  of  his  danger,  it  may  be  too.  He 
really  feels,  that  is,  he  experiences  his  need  of  salva 
tion,  and  becomes  anxious  and  eager  to  do  anything 
to  secure  it.  Tries  perhaps  all  sorts  of  expedients, 
except  the  one  only  and  true,  in  vain.  Then  at  last 
his  eyes  are  opened  to  see  that  Jesus  Christ  is  set 
forth  to  be  his  salvation,  and  that  all  he  has  to  do 
is,  just  as  he  is,  without  one  grain  of  purity  or  merit, 
in  all  his  guilt  and  pollution,  to  trust  in  his  Saviour, 
and  now  he  sees  and  feels,  that  is,  he  experiences, 
that  Jesus  Christ  is  the  Way,  the  Truth,  and  the 
Life,  the  very  Saviour  he  needs.  In  Jesus  he 
triumphs  and  exults.  In  Jesus  he  revels  and  re 
joices.  Jesus  is  the  one  amongst  ten  thousands, 
altogether  lovely.  The  only  one  in  heaven  or  on 
earth  to  be  desired,  filling  all  the  orbit  of  his  soul 
with  faith,  and  hope  and  love.  This  in  substance  is 


"RIGHTEOUSNESS   OF  GOD."  51 

the  sum  of  all  religious  experience.  All  may  be 
condensed  into  three  words  :  the  first  expressive  of 
the  sinner's  necessities  —  SALVATION  :  the  second  ex 
pressive  of  the  gospel  provision  for  the  sinner,  a 
SAVIOUR  ;  and  the  third  embodying  the  condition  of 
the  sinner's  entire  deliverance,  FAITH. 

And  now  to  account  for  the  two  distinct  experien 
ces,  each  so  marked  and  important,  and  so  alike  in 
character,  we  have  only  to  consider  two  facts,  viz., 
first,  that  the  sinner's  necessities  are  two-fold  and 
distinct,  although  both  are  included  in  the  one  word 
salvation.  We  express  the  two  in  the  words  of  that 
favorite  hymn,  Rock  of  Ages,  when  we  sing, 

"  Be  of  sin  the  double  cure, 

"  Save  from  wrath  and  make  me  pure" 

And  the  Psalmist  makes  the  distinction  in  the 
second  verse  of  the  thirty-second  Psalm,  saying, 
"  Blessed  is  the  man  to  whom  the  Lord  imputeth  not 
iniquity,  and  in  whose  spirit  there  is  no  guile" 
The  apostle  Paul  generally  includes  both  in  the 
one  term  "  Righteousness  of  God,"  as  "  to  all,  and 
upon  all  that  believe,"  but  in  the  thirtieth  verse  of 
the  first  chapter  of  first  Corinthians,  he  separates 
them  and  marks  them  by  the  distinct  terms,  "  right 
eousness,"  and  "  sanctification,"  and  now  of  late 
the  whole  Christian  world,  has  come  to  distinguish 
them  by  the  now  limited  and  definite  terms,  justifi 
cation  and  sanctification.  Luther  used  the  term 


52  THE   HIGHER   CHRISTIAN  LIFE. 

justification  as  including  both ;  in  the  same  way  that 
the  apostle  Paul  used  the  expression  righteousness 
of  God.  Justification  in  the  great  Reformer's  sense, 
was  being'  made  righteous ;  that  is,  being  reckoned 
righteous  before  God,  and  being  made  righteous  in 
heart  and  life.  Nevertheless  the  two  things  are  dis 
tinct  and  different  in  their  nature,  and  are  expres 
sive  of  two  great  and  equal  wants  of  the  sinner.  He 
must  be  just  in  the  eye  of  the  law,  justified  before 
God.  And  he  must  also  be  holy  in  heart  and  life, 
or  he  cannot  be  saved. 

This  is  the  first  fact  to  be  taken  into  account  in 
coming  to  an  understanding  of  the  two  separate  and 
distinct  experiences,  so  clearly  marked  in  such  cases 
as  Luther's,  and  D'Aubigne's.  Another  is  that,  prac 
tically  always  perhaps,  and  theologically  often,  we 
separate  between  the  two  in  our  views  and  efforts, 
to  secure  them  to  ourselves,  until  we  are  experi 
mentally  taught  better.  We  have  one  process  for 
acceptance  with  God,  that  is  faith  ;  and  another  for 
progress  in  holiness,  that  is  works.  After  having 
found  acceptance  in  Jesus  by  faith,  we  think  to  go 
on  to  perfection  by  strugglings  and  resolves,  by  fast-  - 
ings  and  prayers,  not  knowing  the  better  way  of 
taking  Christ  for  our  sanctification,  just  as  we  have 
already  taken  him  for  our  justification.  We  see 
and  believe  in  Jesus  as  our  atonement  on  earth,  and 
our  Advocate  and  Mediator  in  heaven,  but  we  fail  to 
see  and  receive  him  as  our  ever-present  Saviour 


MARKED   EXPERIENCE  NOT  ESSENTIAL.  53 

from  sin  now  here  with  as  in  the  hourly  scenes  of 
the  daily  journey  heavenward.  The  consequence 
is,  that  as  in  the  first  instance  we  tried  all  sorts  of 
expedients,  except  the  right  one,  and  failed  in  every 
one,  until  at  last  the  Lord  opened  our  eyes  to  see 
both  our  own  folly  in  all  these  vain  attempts,  and  at 
the  same  breath  to  see  the  wisdom  of  God  in  giving 
us  His  Son  our  Saviour  as  the  Way  ;  even  so  now 
again  in  the  second,  we  try  all,  and  all  in  vain,  until 
again  in  this  new  and  equal  necessity,  we  find  anew 
that  all  our  ways  are  vain,  and  that  Jesus  is  the 
Way. 

These  two  facts  will  account  for  these  cases  of 
"  second  conversion."  Let  it  not  be  supposed,  how 
ever,  that  in  every  instance  there  must  be  two  dis 
tinct  experiences,  s'eparated  by  a  gulph  of  vain  strug- 
glings.  It  is  not  necessary  that  there  should  be  one 
even.  Let  Jesus  be  received  as  the  all  in  all,  and 
that  is  enough !  Whoever  can  say,  "  Jesus  is  mine 
and  I  am  his,  that  he  is  complete  and  I  am  complete 
in  him,"  and  say  the  truth,  has  the  experience 
whether  he  has  an  experience  to  relate,  or  not.  He 
has  the  Rock  of  Ages  for  his  foundation,  and  all  the 
driving  storms,  and  beating  tempests,  and  swelling 
floods  of  time  and  eternity,  will  not  sweep  it  from 
under  him.  Christ,  without  any  marked  experience 
whatever,  is  all-sufficient;  but  the  most  brilliant 
experience  without  Christ,  would  be  only  quick-sand 
in  the  day  of  trial.  Loyola's  experience  was  as 


54  THE  HIGHER  CHRISTIAN  LIFE. 

brilliant  as  Paul's ;  and  Mahomet's  was  even  more 
wonderful  than  either;  just  as  some  counterfeits 
are  really  finer  in  appearance  than  the  genuine  ;  but 
that  did  not  make  the  great  Jesuit  a  saint,  except 
in  his  own  eyes,  and  in  the  Eomish  calendar,  nor 
the  false  prophet  an  angel  anywhere  outside  of  his 
own  sensual  paradise. 

Some  voyagers  heavenward  trouble  themselves  all 
the  live-long  voyage,  clear  to  the  very  entrance  of 
the  haven  of  rest,  with  doubts  whether  after  all 
they  have  really  set  sail  at  all  or  not,  because  they 
had  not  the  same  struggles  and  difficulties  in  hoist 
ing  anchor  and  getting  the  canvas  spread  to  the 
breezes  of  heaven,  that  others  describe  !  Surely  it 
should  be  enough  that  they  are  on  shipboard,  with 
anchor  up,  sails  set,  steam  working,  outward  bound, 
plowing  the  deep  at  the  rate  of  fifteen  knots  an 
hour !  What  if  they  did  set  out  in  the  night  time, 
or  in  a  fog  ?  Is  it  not  enough  that  the  captain  and 
the  pilot  knew  how  to  find  the  way,  and  that  they 
are  now  out  in  the  sunlight,  on  the  open  sea,  and 
bounding  over  the  billows  to  the  desired  haven  ? 

This,  by  the  way.  It  is  certainly  pleasant  to  have 
distinct  recollections  of  one's  conversion,  and  also 
of  the  moment  and  the  circumstances  when  full 
trust  for  full  salvation  was  first  reposed  in  Jesus, 
but  this  is  by  no  means  indispensable.  To  be  in  the 
way,  to  have  Jesus  for  the  all  in  all,  is  the  great 
thing. 


AGREEMENTS   AND  DIFFERENCES.  55 

There  remains  yet  one  thing  more  to  be  done  be 
fore  closing  these  explanations.  In  the  preceding 
examples  and  comparisons,  certain  differences  were 
shown  between  the  three  classes,  which,  for  conve 
nience,  we  named  Lutherans,  Wesleyans,  and  Ober- 
linians.  It  will  be  important  to  note  again,  first  the 
points,  both  of  agreement  and  of  difference  between 
them,  and  then  to  give  the  reasons  of  both  their  dif 
ferences  and  their  agreements. 

It  is  worthy  of  special  note  again  that  their  differ 
ences  are  altogether  those  of  opinion,  not  at  all  of 
fact.  All  are  agreed  as  to  the  essential  facts  of  the 
experience  in  question.  The  shades  of  difference 
in  the  manner  of  narrating  are  not  at  all  essential. 
All  agree  especially  in  the  one  great  matter,  that 
the  experience  is  that  of  the  way  of  sanctification 
by  faith :  that  of  really  practically  receiving  Jesus 
for  sanctification  by  faith,  as  before  he  had  been  re 
ceived  as  the  sacrifice  for  sins.  This  may  be  vari 
ously  expressed,  but  this  is  the  marrow  and  sub 
stance  of  the  whole  matter  in  every  case  and  with 
every  class. 

Again :  all  agree  as  to  the  fact  that  this  practical, 
experimental  apprehension  of  Christ  is  instantane 
ous  in  every  case,  whether  the  instant  can  be 
marked,  as  in  the  cases  referred  to,  or  not.  How 
ever  long  the  struggles  beforehand,  and  however 
gradual  the  rising  of  the  light  afterwards  in  the 
soul,  there  is  a  moment  when  Christ  is  first  seen  to 


56  THE  HIGHER   CHRISTIAN   LIFE 

be  The  Way,  and  when  the  soul  leaves  every  other 
way  and  trusts  solely  in  Jesus.  In  these  facts  all 
agree.  And  it  may  be  added,  that  in  the  one  essen 
tial  doctrine  of  the  way  of  sanctification,  as  by  faith 
and  not  by  works,  they  all  agree,  of  course,  if  they 
agree  in  its  practical  reception  in  the  experience  in 
question.  Theologically,  therefore,  they  are  so  far 
in  harmony. 

Now  the  differences  are,  first,  as  to  whether  this 
experience  is  that  of  entire  instantaneous  sanctifica 
tion  or  not.  Whether  the  instant  the  sinner  is  given 
up  to  Christ  to  be  "  Sanctified  soul,  body  and  spirit, 
and  preserved  blameless,  until  the  coming  of  our 
Lord,"  as  the  apostle  prays  that  the  Thessalonians 
may  be,  whether  then  the  sinner  is  indeed,  in  that 
moment,  made  perfect  in  holiness  or  not.  Or  if 
not,  whether  in  any  proper  sense  he  may  be  spoken 
of  as  perfect. 

Oberlinians  affirm,  in  the  case,  absolute  moral 
perfection. 

Wesleyans  affirm  a  modified  perfection  called 
"  Christian." 

Lutherans  affirm  neither,  but  deny  both.  Then 
as  to  terms  descriptive  of  the  experience  there  is  a 
corresponding  difference. 

Oberlinians  use  freely  and  without  qualification 
the  term  "  entire  sanctification." 

Wesleyans  also,  use  the  word  entire,  in  a  re 
stricted  sense,  though  their  favorite  names  are 


EEASONS    WHY.  57 

"  Perfect  love"  and  "  Christian  perfection,"  as  modi 
fying,  and  qualifying  the  idea  of  absolute  perfec 
tion. 

Lutherans  have  discussed  the  experience  less  as  a 
thing  distinct,  and  therefore  have  known  it  less, 
and  named  it  less  distinctively,  than  either  Wesley- 
ans  or  Oberlinians. 

Cases  of  it  have  always  occurred  in  every  great 
awakening,  and  often  also  in  solitary  instan 
ces,  in  the  furnace  of  affliction  or  under  the 
special  influences  of  sovereign  grace  and  power. 
Such  cases  have  generally  received  the  convenient 
name,  "  second  conversion  :  "  but  in  the  standards, 
as  in  the  Westminster  Assembly's  Confession, 
it  is  called,  "  The  full  assurance  of  grace  and 
salvation,"  and  elsewhere,  "  The  full  assurance  of 
faith,"  while  in  hymns  it  is  often  named,  "  Full  sal 
vation." 

Now  as  to  the  reasons  of  these  agreements  and 
these  differences,  it  will  be  easy  to  see  them,  if  we 
scan  the  matter  closely. 

All  agree  in  the  facts  of  the  experience,  because 
the  facts  themselves  are  in  harmony  in  all  cases. 
And  all  agree  in  the  doctrine  of  sanctification  by 
faith,  because  in  every  case,  that  is  the  great  princi 
ple  received  experimentally  in  place  of  sanctification 
by  works.  And  all  agree  that  this  experimental 
reception  of  Christ  for  sanctification  is  instantane 
ous,  because  it  could  not  be  otherwise.  For  in 
3* 


58  THE  HIGHER   CHRISTIAN  -  LIFE. 

every  change  of  one  principle  of  action  for  another, 
however  long  the  matter  may  be  under  considera 
tion  before  hand,  the  change  at  last  when  it  does 
occur,  must  from  the  nature  of  the  case  be  instan 
taneous. 

But  while  all  agree  in  this,  and  thus  far — just 
here  the  separation  begins. 

Oberlinians  look  upon  the  soul's  sanctincation  as 
complete,  entire,  wanting  nothing,  the  instant  Christ 
is  accepted  for  entire  sanctiiication. 

Lutherans  look  upon  this,  the  acceptance  of  Christ 
as  the  soul's  sanctincation,  as  the  entrance  merely 
upon  the  true  and  only  way  of  being  made  holy,  as 
the  first  full  discovery  of  the  real  and  the  right  way. 

Wesleyans  take  a  middle  view,  indefinite,  and 
therefore  undefinable.  They  do  not  believe  in  the 
absolutely  perfected  holiness  of  the  soul  the  instant 
it  trusts  fully  in  Jesus  for  holiness  of  heart.  They 
freely  admit  that  imperfections  may  and  do  still 
exist,  while  yet  a  sort  of  modified  perfection  is 
attained,  as  they  think. 

Now  what  is  the  right  and  the  truth  of  the  mat 
ter  ?  Exactly  what  is  attained  in  this  experience  ? 

Christ.  Christ  in  all  his  fulness.  Christ  as  all 
in  all.  Christ  objectively  and  subjectively  received 
and  trusted  in.  That  is  all.  And  that  is  enough. 

But  what  as  to  holiness  of  heart?  Nothing! 
Nothing  but  a  sense  of  self-emptiness,  and  vileness, 
and  helplessness.  Nothing  but  a  sense  of  unholi- 


CHRIST   RECEIVED   BY   ALL.  59 

ness,  and  a  full  consciousness  that  all  efforts  and 
resolutions,  and  strugglings  and  cries  for  holiness 
of  heart,  are  just  as  vain  as  the  attempts  of  a  leop 
ard  or  an  Ethiopian  to  bathe  white  in  any  waters. 
This  with  a  sense  of  absolute  dependence  upon 
Christ  for  holiness  of  heart  and  life,  just  as  for  the 
forgiveness  of  sin  is  the  sum  and  substance  of  the 
soul's  attainment.  At  the  same  time  while  this 
deep  self-abasement,  and  utter  self-abhorrence  fills 
the  soul,  there  is  on  the  other  hand  just  as  deep  a 
sense  of  the  all-sufficiency  and  perfect  loveliness  of 
Christ,  and  a  realization  of  the  fulness  of  his  love, 
and  an  assurance  of  his  ability  to  do  exceeding 
abundantly  above  all  that  we  can  ask  or  think, 
according  to  the  power  that  worketh  in  us.  And  a 
confidence  that  he  will  do  it,  according  to  the  plan 
of  God. 

Then  what  follows  ? 

Then  follows  the  work   according  to  our  faith. 

By  faith  the  soul  is  now  placed  in  the  hands  of 
Christ,  as  the  clay  in  the  hands  of  the  potter ;  and 
by  faith,  Christ  is  received  by  the  soul  as  the  potter 
to  mold  it  at  his  own  sovereign  will,  into  a  vessel 
for  the  Master's  own  use  and  for  the  King's  own 
table. 

By  faith  the  soul  now  is  opened  as  a  mirror  to 
the  Master,  and  as  in  a  crystal  fount  of  unrippled 
face,  the  Master's  image  is  taken  in  all  its  meekness 
and  majesty. 


60  THE   HIGHER  CHRISTIAN  LIFE. 

By  faith  the  soul  is  put  into  the  hands  of  Christ, 
like  paper  into  the  hands  of  the  printer  to  be 
unfolded  and  softened  and  printed,  with  all  the  glo 
rious  things  of  God.  And  by  faith  Christ  is  taken 
to  the  soul  like  an  unopened  book,  title  page  read  it 
may  be,  and  portrait  frontispiece  scanned  and 
admired,  but  its  leaves  uncut,  and  its  treasures  of 
wisdom  and  knowledge  all  unexplored,  all  in  reserve, 
to  be  gained  by  daily  and  hourly  reading,  in  all 
after  time. 

By  the  power  of  God,  in  the  light  of  truth,  a  new 
starting  point  has  been  gained.  A  new  and  higher 
level  has  been  reached,  and  in  the  new  light  all 
things  take  on  a  new  loveliness,  and  from  the  new 
starting  point  the  race  becomes  swifter  and  yet 
easier.  A  starting  point  it  is  however,  and  not  the 
goal  reached,  or  the  mark  of  the  prize  won.  Let 
this  be  specially  noted,  and  kept  ever  in  mind.  This 
being  the  case  it  is  easy  to  see  why  the  Lutherans 
should  reject  the  terms  and  ideas  of  perfection,  as 
attained  in  this  experience,  for  it  is  the  beginning, 
not  the  end  ;  only  the  entrance,  fully  and  conscious 
ly,  by  the  right  principle,  upon  the  process  of 
sanctification — not  sanctification  completed. 

When  a  man  sick  unto  death,  has  become  fully 
convinced  of  the  utter  hopelessness  of  his  case  in 
his  own  hands,  and  thrown  away  every  remedy 
devised  by  himself,  or  recommended  by  his  friends, 
and  sent  for  a  physician  who  has  wisdom  to  under- 


REASONS  FOR  THE  WESLEYAN  VIEW.  61 

stand  and  skill  to  heal  his  disease,  it  would  be 
folly  to  say  that  at  the  moment  his  case  was  en 
trusted  to  the  physician,  his  cure  was  complete.  So 
in  the  Lutheran  view,  the  transfer  and  the  trust  of  the 
soul,  for  the  whole  work  of  sanctification  by  the 
Holy  Spirit  is  but  the  first  effectual  step  in  the  work. 
It  is  the  door  of  the  way  fairly  entered,  and  the 
way  clearly  perceived.  So  much,  no  more.  The 
goal  and  the  crown  are  yonder  in  the  glorious 
future,  and  in  the  open  vision  and  unveiled  pres 
ence  of  the  King  immortal  and  eternal  —  but  as  yet 
invisible  —  the  only  wise  God  our  Saviour. 

And  it  is  also  easy  to  see  why  the  Wesleyans 
reject  the  idea  of  absolute  perfection  attained  in  the 
experience,  for  they  see  and  know  that,  according  to 
their  standard  of  sinless  obedience,  it  is  not  true. 
While  at  the  same  time  it  is  easy  to  see  how  the  fact 
that  it  is  an  experimental  apprehension  of  the  true 
way  of  sanctification,  together  with  the  desire  to 
give  the  experience  a  distinctive  name  has  led  to  the 
adoption  of  such  terms  as  "  Christian  perfection " 
and  "  Perfect  love  "  with  a  disclaimer  of  any  profes 
sion  of  sinless  perfection  or  absolute  angelic  holiness 
of  heart  and  life. 

For  the  Oberlinian  idea  that  the  experience  brings 
the  soul  into  a  state  of  sinless  perfection,  or  entire 
sanctification  the  grounds  must  be  sought  in  three 
tilings  :  first,  their  philosophy  of  the  will,  according 


62  THE   HIGHER  CHRISTIAN  LIFE. 

to  which  each  volition  or  choice  is  in  itself  absolute 
ly  holy,  or  absolutely  unholy  and  altogether  so. 
So  that  when  God  is  chosen,  while  that  choice  is 
predominant,  the  soul  is  perfectly  holy  ;  and  when 
the  world  is  chosen,  then  while  that  choice  is  upper 
most,  then  the  soul  is  perfectly  sinful :  —  This,  with 
their  view  of  the  law  of  God  as  graduated  to  the 
sinner's  condition,  whatever  it  is,  not  requiring  of 
all  alike  the  same  entire  conformity  to  the  absolute 
and  unchangeable  standard  of  heavenly  holiness,  but 
claiming  no  more  than  the  sinner's  earthly  blind 
ness  permits  him  to  see,  and  no  more  than  his 
earthly  weakness  permits  him  to  do.  And  to  these 
two  a  third  must  be  added ;  viz.,  their  definition  of 
sanctification,  according  to  which  it  is  consecration 
only  —  or  setting  apart  to  God  —  and  so  is  man's 
own  work,  instead  of  God's.  Whereas,  according 
to  the  popular  acceptation,  sanctification  is  the  work 
of  God  in  the  soul  after  it  is  set  apart  to  God  by 
voluntary  consecration :  —  These  three  things  taken 
together,  and  taken  together  with  the  experience, 
may  serve  to  show  us  why  and  how  the  Oberlinians 
adopt  the  terms,  and  accept  the  idea  of  "  entire 
sanctification  "  as  attained  in  the  experience. 

As  a  closing  remark :  Let  it  be  borne  in  mind 
that  these  differences,  are  only  differences  of  opin 
ion.  Important  certainly  ;  but  after  all,  nothing  in 
comparison  with  the  great  facts  in  which  all  are 
agreed.  Not  for  a  moment  should  they  be  allowed 


HARMONY  IN  THE   GREAT  OBJECT.  63 

to  keep  one  back  from  securing  the  great  and  blessed 
realities  of  such  an  experimental  apprehension  of 
Christ  and  salvation  as  is  set  forth  in  the  examples 
given.  The  experience  is  a  reality.  Jesus  is  freely 
offered  as  our  sanctification  as  well  as  our  justifica 
tion.  Faith  —  full  trust  in  him  will  bring  full  sal 
vation  with  him  to  the  soul.  Let  no  one  fail  of  the 
grace  of  God.  "  Behold,  saith  he  that  openeth  and 
no  man  shutteth,  and  shutteth  and  no  man  openeth, 
1  have  set  before  thee  an  open  door,  and  no  man 
can  shut  it." 


CHAPTER  Y. 


A  STUMBLING  STONE. 

"GATHER  OUT  THE  STONES." — Isaiah  Ixii:  11. 

WHEN  a  ponderous  train  of  cars  is  under  way, 
rushing,  roaring,  thundering  along  at  the  rate  of 
thirty  miles  an  hour,  it  may  indeed  be  thrown  from 
the  track  by  a  trifling  thing,  a  block  or  a  stone,  and 
dashed  to  atoms  ;  but  it  can  be  brought  safely  to  a 
stand-still  only  by  reversing  the  engine  and  applying 
all  the  power  of  the  brakes.  But  when  standing  all 
still,  silent,  motionless,  a  mere  pebble  before  a  single 
wheel  will  defy  all  the  mighty  force  of  the  locomo 
tive  to  move  the  train  a  hair.  Just  so  when  fully 
convinced  of  the  reality  and  value  of  the  experience 
exemplified,  and  fairly  on  the  stretch  for  it,  though 
there  is  danger  even  then  of  being  switched  off  the 
track,  or  thrown  from  it  by  some  malicious  obstruc 
tion  placed  in  the  way  by  our  wily  adversary  ;  yet 
no  light  matter  could  stop  the  earnest  inquirer  from 
the  successful  pursuit  of  the  great  object  in  view. 


A   BEACON   LIGHT.  65 

No  so,  however,  in  the  outset.  Then  a  mere  trifle, 
a  misapprehension,  a  doubt,  a  fear,  a  name,  one 
word,  may  be  the  pebble  on  the  track,  and  prevent 
a  single  step  being  taken. 

"  Perfectionism  !  "  This  one  word,  perfectionism, 
has  kept  and  is  now  keeping  thousands  from  exam 
ining  into  the  matter  at  all.  It  is  high  time  this 
stumbling  stone  was  gathered  out  of  the  way.  It 
may  indeed  become  a  beacon  light  to  show  the 
mariner  in  his  heavenward  voyage  the  hidden  rock 
where  noble  souls  have  struck  in  days  gone  by,  and 
so  warn  him  of  its  peril,  and  induce  him  to  give  it  a 
wide  berth  as  he  passes  safely  on  —  but  it  has  no 
place  by  right  in  the  way.  There  is  not  the  least 
necessary  connection  between  the  experience  de 
scribed  and  perfectionism.  It  is  true  that  some  have 
connected  the  two  things,  but  they  are  entirely 
distinct  and  widely  different  from  each  other.  The 
experience  is  a  fact,  and  as  a  fact  it  has  been  exem 
plified  in  the  instances  we  have  referred  to,  and 
thousands  besides,  in  which  the  theory  of  perfection 
ism  had  not  so  much  as  a  thought  given  to  it,  or  if 
a  thought  or  a  word,  it  was  a  word  of  denial,  as  in 
the  cases  of  Luther  and  D'Aubigne.  Perfectionism 
on  the  other  hand  is  a  theory  —  a  notion  or  system 
of  notions  —  which  may  have  place  in  the  head, 
either  with  or  without  the  experience  in  the  heart. 
Doubtless  there  have  been  many  who  have  accepted 
the  theory  of  perfectionism,  and  also  come  into  the 


66  THE  HIGHER  CHRISTIAN  LIFE. 

experience  of  full  salvation  by  faith  —  but  there  are 
many  also  who  have  taken  up  the  idea  of  perfection 
ism,  and  held  it  strenuously  without  having  come 
into  the  experience  at  all.  The  two  things,  there 
fore,  have  no  necessary  connection  whatever,  or  the 
examples  given,  must  go  for  nothing. 

Two  illustrations  may  serve  to  make  this  entirely 
clear.  In  a  little  book,  which  at  the  time  excited 
some  attention  and  induced  an  answer  from  the  late 
venerable  Leonard  Woods,  D.  D.,  "  Mahan  on  Chris 
tian  Perfection  ;"  the  author,  in  a  narrative  near  the 
close  of  the  book  very  naively  informs  us,  that  first 
at  Oberlin,  at  a  time  when  there  was  deep  and  increas 
ing  religious  interest,  he  himself  and  Mr.  Finney, 
became  deeply  impressed  with  the  necessity  of 
greater  holiness  of  heart,  and  after  a  period  of 
intense  anxiety  and  earnest  struggling,  first  one,  then 
the  other  came  out  into  the  light,  to  see  that  the 
Lord  Jesus  Christ  must  be,  and  was  their  sanctifica- 
tion,  as  already  they  had  before  received  him  as 
their  justification. 

They  began  then  to  preach  the  full  gospel  as  they 
then  for  the  first  apprehended  it.  Power  attended 
the  preaching.  Many  were  impressed  in  like  manner, 
and  many  in  like  manner  came  into  the  light  of  this 
second  conversion.  So  the  matter  went  on  for  six 
months ,  while  as  yet  there  was  no  adoption  of 
either  the  theory  or  the  name  of  perfectionism.  Six 
whole  months  it  was  a  nameless  experience,  or  at 


THE   QUESTIONERS.  67 

most  called  second  conversion.  After  a  while,  like 
the  Israelites  in  the  wilderness,  when  the  bread  of 
heaven  was  given  them  in  the  dew  of  the  morning, 
they  began  to  say  one  to  another,  "  Manna  ?  manna  ? 
What  is  it  ?  what  is  it  ?  "  Then,  as  the  author  in 
forms  us,  there  was  quite  a  shock  given  them  —  a 
thrill  of  revolt,  when  one  asked  in  one  of  their 
meetings,  "  Is  this  Christian  perfection  ?  "  They 
hushed  the  question  —  but  hugged  it.  A  thousand 
pities  that  they  had  not  dropped  it !  But  no.  By 
and  by,  when  college  vacation  came,  they  two,  Mr. 
M.  and  Mr.  F.,  took  the  question  to  New  York  with 
them  —  as  yet  three  months  after  the  experience 
received  —  an  open  question  to  be  discussed  and  de 
cided.  While  in  New  York,  after  long  deliberation, 
they  accepted  and  adopted  the  name  Christian  per 
fection,  or  entire  sanctification,  and  elaborated  their 
own  peculiar  theory  according  to  their  own  pecu 
liar  philosophy  and  theology ;  and  with  this  returned 
to  Oberlin  to  make  it  the  head  quarters  and  strong 
hold  of  the  system  we  have  named  the  Oberlinian. 

Now  this  fact  proves  one  thing  beyond  the  possi 
bility  of  successful  controversy,  viz :  that  in  their 
own  case,  the  experience  they  described  and  the 
theory  they  imbibed  are  and  were  separate  and  dis 
tinct,  having  no  necessary  connection  whatever  with 
each  other. 

Another,  a  very  different  case,  will  serve  to  make 
the  separation  wider  and  plainer  still. 


68  THE   HIGHER   CHRISTIAN  LIFE. 

One,  who  in  these  pages  shall  be  nameless,  though 
known  to  the  writer,  became  deeply  interested  in 
the  subject  from  reading  the  memoirs  of  eminent 
Christians,  James  Brainerd  Taylor,  first  of  all.  By 
and  by  he  came  to  associate  the  terms  of  the  Wes- 
leyans  and  the  ideas  of  the  Oberlinians,  with  the 
experience  narrated  by  Taylor.  At  first  it  was  a 
hard  matter  for  him  to  gain  his  own  consent  to  ac- 
3ept  these  terms  and  ideas,  and  still  harder  to  be 
willing  to  acknowledge  it.  But  he  did  it.  The  ex 
perience  he  believed  to  be  true,  and  saw  to  be  excel 
lent.  His  heart  yearned  for  it.  He  was  not  satis 
fied  with  what  he  felt  in  himself  and  saw  in  others. 
He  was  sure  there  was  something  better  within 
hopeful  reach  in  the  gospel.  And,  alas  for  him, 
perfectionism  was  thrown  square  in  his  way.  He 
must  accept  it  and  acknowledge  it  —  so  he  verily 
thought  —  or  fail  of  the  blessedness  he  saw  in  pros 
pect  and  longed  to  enjoy. 

As  God  in  mercy  would  have  it,  this  obstacle  did 
not  stop  him  as  it  has  stopped  thousands  —  stopped 
them,  to  use  a  paro cTox,  —  before  they  had  started. 
He  urged  his  way  onward,  The  struggle  was  long 
and  severe.  His  was  the  blessedness  at  last,  how 
ever,  to  overcome.  He  conquered.  He  fought  his 
way  to  the  tree  of  life  in  the  midst  of  the  paradise 
of  God,  and  gained  the  hidden  manna,  and  the 
white  stone  with  the  new  name,  known  only  to  him 
self.  But  now  came  instantly  an  entire  change  of 


THE  MISTAKEN  ONE.  69 

view  about  the  whole  matter  of  perfection.  In  the 
experience,  his  own  utter  vileness  was  shown  him, 
just  as  Isaiah  saw  his  in  the  vision  of  the  Lord 
on  his  throne ;  and  like  Daniel  in  his  vision 
of  the  glorious  Redeemer  in  his  amber  purity 
and  sunlight  holiness,  he  felt  his  very  comeli 
ness  turned  into  corruption.  While  at  the  same 
time  he  saw  the  fulness  of  God's  glorious  grace, 
and  felt  that  Jesus  would  be  with  him  evermore, 
to  keep  him  and  work  in  him  by  the  Holy  Spirit  his 
own  holy  will.  And  then  came  instantly  the  ques 
tion,  "  Is  this  the  perfection  I  have  been  seeking  ?  " 
The  answer  was  irresistibly  u  No."  He  had  been 
seeking  and  expecting  to  be  wholly  sanctified  in  a 
moment  by  Divine  power,  and  made  fully  conscious 
that  he  was  absolutely  and  entirely  holy.  But,  in 
stead  of  that,  he  had  his  eyes  opened  to  see  his  utter 
unholiness,  and  to  see  that  Christ  must  answer 
wholly  for  him,  and  clothe  him  altogether  with  his 
own  (Christ's  own)  righteousness,  and  keep  him  by 
his  own  mighty  power  through  faith,  and  change 
him  as  by  the  spirit  of  the  Lord  from  glory  to  glory 
into  his  own  image.  He  rose  therefore  from  his 
knees,  not  to  profess  himself  perfect,  by  any  means, 
but  to  say  and  to  feel  that  Christ  was  all  in  all  to 
him,  while  he  was  nothing  but  sin  in  himself. 

At  once  and  forever  he  dropped  the  theory  of  per 
fectionism,  and  the  terms,  also,  as  misnomers  of  the 
experience,  while  from  that  day  onward  until  now 


70  THE   HIGHER   CHRISTIAN    LIFE. 

he  lias  rejoiced  in  full  salvation,  through  full  trust 
in  Jesus. 

Here  then  we  have  two  illustrations  that  the 
thory  of  perfection,  and  the  fact  of  the  experience 
in  question  have  no  necessary  connection.  In  the 
first,  the  experience  was  gained  first  while  the  theory 
was  unthought  of,  and  indeed  shocking  at  the  time, 
and  adopted  only  after  months  of  delay  and  specula 
tion. 

And  in  the  second,  the  theory  was  adopted  first, 
months  before  the  experience  was  gained,  and  then 
thrown  aside  as  at  variance  with  the  experience  in 
the  moment  when  that  was  gained. 

Another  and  still  different  illustration  may  not  be 
without  use. 

This  whole  subject,  experience  and  theory  together 
had  been  forced  upon  the  attention  of  one  who  had 
been  then  three  years  or  more  a  cheerful,  decided, 
happy  Christian.  It  was  disagreeable  to  her,  not 
because  she  was  not  anxious  to  gain  all  that  such 
an  one  as  she  might  reasonably  hope  for.  Already 
she  had  found  more  in  religion,  than  in  all  the 
round  of  the  gay  world  most  fully  tried,  and  really 
enjoyed  by  her.  The  nectar  of  love  sipped  from  the 
lily  of  the  valley,  and  from  the  rose  of  Sharon,  had 
been  too  sweet  to  her  to  be  turned  from  with  disgust, 
or  disrelish  even.  But  heresy  !  the  fear  of  heresy  ! 
or  of  fanaticism,  or  extravagance  !  She  shrank  from 
the  approach  of  anything  threatening  in  the  least  to 


THE  PERPLEXED   ONE.  71 

drive  her  into  ultraism.  She  could  not  bear  the 
thought  of  separating  between  herself  and  the  Chris 
tian  world,  in  which  she  had  found  such  sweet  and 
happy  fellowship.  Every  book  upon  this  subject 
was  avoided.  All  conversation  about  it  carefully 
eschewed.  At  last  however,  in  a  leisure,  and  yet 
a  sacred  hour,  one  Sabbath  morning,  when  kept 
from  the  house  of  prayer  by  slight  illness,  her  eye 
fell  upon  the  story  of  another's  experience  of  this 
second  conversion,  or  as  he  called  it,  Christian  per 
fection.  The  narrative  was  simple,  sincere,  and 
truthful.  She  saw  it  to  be  true  and  real,  and  she 
saw  it  to  be  as  blessed  as  true,  and  as  necessary  as 
blessed.  In  that  hour  her  resolution  was  taken. 
She  gave  up  her  fears.  Resolved  nobly  to  take  the 
truth,  and  take  with  it  whatever  of  loss  or  cross  it 
might  bring.  The  struggle  was  severe  but  short. 
The  Lord  graciously  led  her  to  believe  in  Jesus  most 
fully,  and  she  found  rest.  Peace  as  a  river,  joy  in 
its  sweet  fulness,  love  inexpressible  flowed  in  from 
Christ  the  fountain,  and  she  was  beyond  me-asure 
happy.  Her  conversion  had  been  bright,  but  not 
brighter  than  this  her  second  conversion.  At  once 
the  desire  that  all  might  know  of  this  the  Christian's 
precious  privilege,  rose  like  the  waters  of  a  spring 
newly  opened,  filling  her  heart  to  the  brim,  and 
ready  to  overflow.  She  sought  opportunity  to  make 
the  matter  known.  But  now  arose  a  practical  diffi 
culty.  What  should  she  say  she  had  experienced  ? 


(A  THE   HIGHER  CHRISTIAN    LIFE. 

A  few  friends  were  to  meet  socially,  a  parlor  gather 
ing,  to  talk  by  the  way,  of  what  the  Lord  had  done 
for  them  in  bringing  them  hitherto  in  their  pilgrim 
age.  She  became  perplexed,  really  distressed  with 
the  question,  "  what  shall  I  tell  them  ?  "  "  Shall  I 
tell  them  I  have  experienced  entire  sanctification  ? 
I  never  felt  my  unholiness  more,  or  so  much.  Shall 
I  say  I  have  been  made  perfect  ?  That  would  in 
deed  prove  me  perverse,  for  I  never  saw  my  imper 
fection  so  clearly,  or  felt  it  so  deeply.  I  see  Christ 
a  perfect  Saviour,  and  he  is  mine,  and  all  I  want ; 
but  I  am  a  perfect  sinner,  needing  a  perfect  Saviour 
indeed.  I  cannot  say  I  am  perfect.  What  then 
shall  I  say  ?  For  I  must  witness  for  Jesus.  I  must 
try  and  get  others  to  trust  fully  in  him." 

In  her  perplexity  she  appealed  for  advice  to  a 
friend,  who  wisely  counselled  her  that  she  had  noth 
ing  at  all  to  do  with  the  question  of  perfection,  least 
of  all  to  profess  herself  to  be  perfect.  She  had  only 
to  tell  what  a  sinner  she  herself  was,  and  what  a 
Saviour  she  had  found. 

This  gave  her  relief  at  once  and  forever.  And 
although  now  for  many  years  she  has  been  a  con 
stant,  faithful,  earnest,  successful  witness  for  Jesus, 
testifying  the  things,  and  none  other  than  the  things 
he  has  done  for  her.  She  has  never  felt  herself  un 
der  any  necessity  to  profess  Christian  perfection,  nor 
yet  has  she  felt  her  joys  and  comforts,  or  her  useful 
ness  one  jot  the  less  for  steering  clear  of  that  profes- 


LIBERTY  AND  FULNESS.  73 

sion,  but  greater.     She  lias  the  liberty  as  well  as  the 
fulness  of  the  blessings  of  the  gospel. 

The  purpose  of  these  illustrations  is  not  contro 
versy,  with  those  who  hold  the  Oberlinian  or  the 
Wesley  an  views  of  this  matter,  but  simply  to  take 
up  a  stumbling  stone  out  of  the  way  of  the  many 
thousands  in  Christendom,  who  are  deterred  by  it 
from  gaining  the  higher  heights,  and  deeper  depths 
of  the  knowledge  and  love  of  Jesus,  as  a  Saviour 
from  sin.  If  it  were  not  for  this,  the  question  of 
perfectionism  might  sleep  forever,  without  one  word 
of  awakening  from  the  writer.  And  now  his  object 
will  be  fully  gained,  if  in  these  brief  remarks  and 
few  illustrations,  the  fact  shall  be  clearly  and  fully 
made  known,  that  none  need  fear  the  necessity  run 
ning  into  perfectionism,  in  pressing  for  all  the  ful 
ness  of  the  riches  of  the  grace  of  God. 
4 


CHAPTER  VI. 


NOT  FOE  ME  ?    WHY  NOT  1 

"  FOB,  THE  PROMISE  IS  UNTO  YOU,  AND  TO  TOUR  CHILDREN,  AND  TO 
ALL  THAT  ARE  AFAR  OFF,  EVEN  AS  MANY  AS  THE  LORD  OUR  GOD 

SHALL  CALL."    Peter  at  Pentecost  concerning  the  baptism  of  the 
Holy  Ghost. 

MODESTY  is  lovely,  presumption  is  folly,  and  pride 
is  madness,  but  there  is  a  holy  boldness  which  is 
one  of  the  chiefest  of  the  beauties  of  holiness. 

When  the  apostles  were  most  supported  and 
engrossed  by  divine  influence,  made  the  very  tem 
ples  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  and  illumined  in  every 
chamber  of  the  soul,  then  they  were  boldest,  and 
then  their  adversaries  took  note  of  them  that  they 
had  been  with  Jesus. 

It  becomes  even  Princes  and  Kings  to  take  the 
shoes  from  their  feet  in  their  approaches  to  God, 
even  when  called  into  his  presence  by  the  voice 
of  the  Lord  himself.  It  is  holy  ground,  and  all 
self-complacency  will  certainly  give  place  to  a  deep 
sense  of  pollution  in  the  vision  of  the  spotless 
majesty  of  the  Most  High,  and  strength  itself  will 
wilt  into  weakness  in  view  of  his  omnipotence. 
A  Job  will  exclaim,  "  I  abhor  myself."  An  Isaiah 


UNBELIEF  NOT  MODESTY.  75 

cry,  "  Woo  is  mo,  I  am  undone  !  "  A  Daniel 
will  feel  his  "  comeliness  turned  into  corruption." 
A  John  will  fall  upon  his  face  as  a  dead  man.  No 
strength  will  remain  in  him. 

And  yet  when  even  a  child  hears  his  name  called, 
like  the  little  boy  in  the  Tabernacle  lent  to  the  Lord 
forever  by  his  mother  —  "  Samuel !  Samuel !  "  Then 
it  is  surely  more  pleasing  to  God  to  have  the  willing 
response,  "  Here  Lord  am  I,"  than  the  reluctant 
plea,  "  Not  me,  Lord,  not  me  !  send  by  whom  thou 
wilt  send,  but  not  me." 

The  Lord  was  offended  with  Moses  for  his  pertina 
cious  modesty  when  called  and  bidden  to  strike  for 
the  liberty  of  Israel  from  Egyptian  bondage.  And 
also  with  Barak  when  sent  lor  by  Deborah  the 
prophetess,  and  commissioned  to  break  the  iron 
yoke  of  Amalek.  And  in  both  cases  he  divided  the 
responsibility,  as  they  desired,  and  the  glory  too  ! 
In  the  one  instance  making  Aaron  a  large  sharer 
with  his  brother  Moses,  and  in  the  other  giving  one 
part  to  Deborah,  and  another  to  Jael  the  wife  of 
Heber  the  Kenite,  leaving  only  the  third  to  the 
shrinking  Barak. 

God  is  not  well  pleased  with  this  shrinking  plea  of 
the  over  modest  disciple  who  says,  "  Not  for  me." 
He  has  opened  the  new  and  living  way  by  the  blood 
of  the  covenant  through  the  rent  vail  into  the  most 
holy  place,  and  exhorts  us  in  the  language  of  the 
apostle,  "  Let  us  enter  in  boldly."  And  it  is  not 


76  THE   HIGHER   CHRISTIAN  LIFE. 

modesty  but  unbelief  which  puts  in  this  shrinking 
plea. 

"  Not  for  me  ?  "  Why  not  ?  Why,  this  is  the 
very  plea  that  the  unconverted  in  their  utter  unbe 
lief  of  the  freeness  of  God's  grace  and  mercy  urge 
when  pressed  to  fly  to  Christ  for  salvation,  —  "  Not 
for  me."  And  yet  we  who  have  tasted  and  felt  the 
love  of  the  Lord  know  how  foolish  their  plea  is. 
We  know  that  the  invitation  is  unto  "  all  the  ends 
of  the  earth,"  and  to  "  whosoever  will."  And  sure 
ly  salvation  is  no  more  free  in  the  first  draught  of 
the  waters  of  Life,  than  in  the  second  and  deeper. 
Christ  is  no  more  freely  offered  in  the  faith  of  his 
atonement,  than  in  the  assurance  of  his  personal 
presence  and  sanctifying  power  !  He  has  not  given 
himself  to  us  in  half  of  his  offices  freely,  then  to  with 
hold  himself  from  us  in  the  other  half.  If  we  are 
content  to  take  him  as  a  half-way  Saviour  —  a  deliv 
erer  from  condemnation,  merely,  but  refuse  to  look 
to  him  as  a  present  Saviour  from  sin,  it  is  our  own 
fault.  He  is  a  full  Saviour.  And  to  all  who  trust 
him  he  gives  full  salvation.  To  all  and  to  each. 

"  But  this  is  not  like  conversion,"  says  an  objec 
tor.  "  It  is  a  special  matter  designed  and  bestowed 
upon  special  instruments  of  God  called  to  special 
responsibilities.  Luther  was  a  great  man,  called  of 
God  for  a  great  work.  Baxter  also, — Wesley  and 
D'Aubigne.  And  these  great  men  were  endowed 
with  great  faith.  I  am  not  like  one  of  these.  It 


THE  PLEA  REVERSED.  77 

would  be  presumption  in  me  to  expect  any  such 
measure  of  faith." 

To  answer,  and  silence  this  plea  is  very  easy, — 
but  to  do  away  with  the  unbelief  that  utters  it 
is  another  matter.  How  do  you  know,  beloved 
disciple  of  Jesus,  that  the  Lord  is  not  calling  you  to 
be  a  special  instrument  specially  endowed  for  great 
and  good  things  ?  Has  God  revealed  to  you  his 
plans  ?  Can  you  say  certainly  that  God  has  not 
great  things  in  store  for  you  ?  Luther,  a  poor 
monk,  buried  up  in  a  convent,  without  a  dollar  in 
the  world,  or  a  friend  to  lean  upon,  or  so  much  as  a 
Bible  of  his  own  to  read,  might  have  taken  up  your 
plea  perhaps  with  quite  as  much  show  of  reason  as 
you  —  and  yet  suppose  he  had  ?  and  had  persisted 
in  it,  and  refused  to  press  for  the  fulness  of  salva 
tion  ?  Ah  !  then  he  might  have  remained  a  monk 
forever,  and  the  honor  and  glory  of  the  Reformer 
would  have  crowned  other  instruments.  So  with 
you.  You  may  shut  yourself  out  from  great  light 
and  love  and  usefulness  —  you  may  let  another  take 
your  crown  —  but  it  will  be  your  own  fault,  through 
an  evil  heart  of  unbelief  if  you  do.  And  tell  me 
now, — upon  your  owii  admission,  that  this  second 
conversion  is  a  power  of  distinguished  usefulness  to 
him  who  secures  it,  are  you  not  taking  too  much 
on  yourself  in  rejecting  it  ?  Certainly  it  does  make 
useful  as  well  as  happy  Christians,  and  refusing  to 
press  for  it  is  no  slight  matter.  You  had  better 
weigh  it  well. 


78  THE  HIGHER   CHRISTIAN  LIFE. 

WILLIAM     CARVOSSO 

Was  left  an  orphan  at  ten,  and  bound  'prentice  to  a 
farmer.  His  father  was  a  sailor,  impressed  and 
compelled  to  serve  on  a  British  man-of-war,  and  his 
days  were  ended  at  last  in  the  Greenwich  Hospital. 
His  mother  gave  him  some  instruction  in  the  —  to 
him  —  difficult  art  of  reading,  when  a  child,  but  of 
writing  he  knew  nothing  until  he  was  sixty-five 
years  old.  In  his  youth  he  was  inducted  into  the 
mysteries  of  cock-fighting,  wrestling,  card-playing, 
and  other  like  things. 

At  twenty-one  years  of  age  it  pleased  God  to 
arrest  him  and  bring  him  to  Christ.  His  sister, 
just  then  newly  converted,  was  the  means  of  this. 
His  struggles  were  great.  Satan  tempted  him,  tried 
him.  It  was  hard  to  give  up  the  world.  Unbelief 
whispered,  "  The  day  of  grace  is  passed :  it  is  now 
too  late."  But  at  last  he  came  to  the  determina 
tion,  "  Whether  saved  or  lost,  never  to  cease  crying 
for  mercy."  "  And  the  moment  this  resolution  was 
formed  in  my  heart,"  he  says,  "  Christ  appeared 
within,  and  God  pardoned  all  my  sins,  and  set  my 
soul  at  liberty.  The  Spirit  himself  now  bore  wit-^ 
ness  with  my  spirit  that  I  was  a  child  of  God." 

This  was  his  conversion.  For  a  time  all  was  fair, 
peaceful,  joyous,  happy.  By  and  by,  however,  he 
discovered  a  deeper  depth  of  his  necessities.  In  his 
own  graphic  simile,  "  My  heart  appeared  to  me  as  a 
small  garden  with  a  large  stump  in  it,  which  had 


LOWLY  ONE  LIFTED   UP.  79 

been  recently  cut  down  level  with  the  ground,  and  a 
little  loose  earth  strewed  over  it.  Seeing  something 
shooting  up  I  did  not  like,  on  attempting  to  pluck 
it  up,  I  discovered  the  deadly  remains  of  the  carnal 
mind,  and  what  a  work  must  be  done  before  I  could 
be  4  meet  for  the  inheritance  of  the  saints  in  light.' 
What  I  now  wanted  was  inward  holiness." 

One  night  about  a  year  after  his  conversion,  he 
returned  from  a  meeting  greatly  distressed  with  a 
sense  of  his  unholiness,  and  turned  aside  into  a 
lonely  barn  to  wrestle  with  God ;  and  while  kneel 
ing  there  on  the  threshing  floor  he  gained  a  little 
light,  but  not  enough  to  burst  his  bonds  and  set  him 
free.  Shortly  after,  however,  in  a  prayer  meeting, 
his  eyes  were  opened  to  see  all  clearly.  "  I  felt," 
he  says,  "  that  I  was  nothing,  and  Christ  was  all  in 
all.  Him  I  now  cheerfully  received  in  all  his 
offices  ;  my  Prophet  to  teach  me,  my  Priest  to  atone 
for  me,  my  King  to  reign  over  me.  0  what  bound 
less,  boundless  happiness,  there  is  in  Christ,  and  all 
for  such  a  poor  sinner  as  I  am !  This  change  took 
place,  March  13th,  1772." 

In  pencil  mark  at  the  bottom  of  the  page,  in  the 
memoir  from  which  this  extract  is  taken,  a  reader 
has  noted  "  A  second  conversion  precise  as  to  time." 
This  narration,  however,  is  not  given  simply  as  an 
illustration  of  second  conversion,  but  rather  to  meet 
the  special  pleading  "  not  for  me"  on  the  ground 
that  it  is  a  special  endowment  for  eminent  ones.  I 


80  THE   HIGHER   CHRISTIAN  LIFE. 

wish  to  show  that  it  is  an  endowment  to  make  emi 
nent  ones.  Often  and  often  in  the  providence  of 
God,  it  has  taken  men  from  the  respectable  ranks  of 
mediocrity,  or  the  low  walks  of  obscurity,  and  lifted 
them  to  eminence. 

Here  is  a  youth  just  out  of  an  apprenticeship  to 
a  farmer  —  a  farmer's  boy  of  all  work,  able  to  spell 
out  a  few  words  indeed  upon  the  printed  page,  but 
unable  to  write  a  word  or  form  a  letter  with  the 
pen.  Not  an  eminent  one  certainly ;  and  yet  he 
said,  "  It  is  for  me  —  I  must  have  it ;  and  by  the 
grace  of  God  I  will."  And  by  the  grace  of  God  he 
did. 

And  now  mark  what  follows.  The  fire  kindled  in 
that  poor  boy's  heart  burned  so  glowing  and  so  glo 
riously,  that  the  angel  of  the  Lord  took  from  that 
altar  the  living  coals  to  touch  the  lips  and  purge  the 
sins  of  thousands.  Carvosso  married  and  became  a 
pilchcr  fisherman  in  the  obscure  fishing  village  of 
Mouse-hole  on  the  coast  of  England  —  a  fisher  of 
men,  too,  and  few  more  successful  than  he.  Four 
months  of  the  year  he  plied  his  seine  for  pilchers, 
but  he  caught  pilcher  catchers  the  whole  year  round. 
Their* first  chapel  was  a  small  room  in  a  fisher's  hut ; 
the  next  an  offensive  fish-drying  cellar ;  the  next  a 
large  upper  room,  made  ready,  but  so  frail  as  to 
crumble  and  tumble  and  crash,  a  heap  of  ruins,  un 
der  the  weight  of  the  first  assembly.  Numbers 
grew,  arid  zeal  with  numbers  and  ability  with  zeal, 


FRUITS  IN  OLD   Ifl^J  fl  J  V  E  I?l 


and  they  built  a  fine  cliapol.  The  whole  place  was 
transformed. 

Tired  of  fishing,  he  became  a  farmer.  The  parish 
where  his  farm  lay  was  unbroken  fallow  ground  ; 
weeds  rank,  stones  ungathered,  fields  unhedged,  a 
heath  in  the  desert.  Soon,  however,  under  the  dili 
gent  hand  of  Carvosso,  it  began  to  blossom  as  the 
rose.  The  few  scattered  sheep  grew  into  three  flour 
ishing  classes.  His  hands  were  full.  From  abroad 
they  sent  for  him,  and  at  one  place,  Cambuslang, 
where  he  went  from  house  to  house  through  the 
day,  and  held  class-meetings  at  night,  seven  hundred 
or  more  were  hopefully  converted  to  God. 

For  sixty  years  this  farmer  boy,  made  eminent  by 
grace,  wrought  on.  And  yet,  strange  to  say,  until 
he  was  sixty-five  years  old,  the  forming  of  the  letter 
P  in  his  class-book,  to  mark  the  presence  of  the 
members  of  his  classes,  was  his  utmost  effort  in  the 
art  of  writing.  His  wife  used  to  rally  him  about 
his  penmanship,  saying,  "  All  you  can  do  is  to 
make  Ps." 

A  simple  circumstance  induced  him  after  he  was 
sixty-five,  to  make  extraordinary  effort  and  learn  to 
write.  He  mastered  the  art,  and  used  it  too..  His 
letters  and  his  autobiography  are  quite  voluminous 
and  very  respectable  in  style ;  and,  what  is  more 
than  all,  have  been  first  and  last  the  means,  per 
haps,  of  more  good  than  his  personal  labors  during 
all  the  sixty  years  of  his  distinguished  usefulness. 


82  THE   HIGHER   CHRISTIAN  LIFE. 

Comment  is  needless.  Let  Carvosso  persuade  you 
that  faith  and  grace  can  raise  even  the  obscure  to 
eminence,  while  unbelief  paralyzes  even  those  dis 
tinguished  for  native  abilities  and  superior  opportu 
nities  and  positions,  and  leaves  them  to  float  along 
in  mediocrity  or  sink  into  obscurity. 

This  upon  the  assumption  of  your  plea  that  this  is 
a  limited  matter.  But  in  fact,  this  assumption  is  en 
tirely  groundless.  Nay,  more.  It  limits  God,  and 
God's  holy  word,  and  God's  boundless  grace.  Not 
for  me  ?  Why  not  ?  Is  not  Christ  able  ?  Is  he 
unwilling  ?  Are  the  promises  limited  ?  Are  the 
commands  binding  only  upon  a  few  ?  Can  any  en 
ter  heaven  without  holiness  ?  Is  there  any  other 
way  of  becoming  holy  ?  Is  your  name  mentioned 
as  an  exception  in  the  promises  and  invitations  of 
the  Word  ?  Do  you  find  any  such  phenomena  as  a 
proclamation  like  this,  "  Look  unto  me,  ye  few ',  and 
be  ye  saved,  for  I  am  God  ?  "  Or  like  this,  "  Who 
soever  will,  let  him  drink  of  the  waters  of  life  freely 
—  except  yourself*  "  or  like  this,  "  For  the  promise 
is,  not  unto  you  and  your  children,  and  to  all  that 
are  afar  off,  even  as  many  as  the  Lord  our  God  shall 
call,"  but  only  to  a  few  eminent  ones,  or  a  few  of 
peculiar  temperament,  or  a  few  in  favorable  circum 
stances  ? 

Favorable  circumstances  !  Not  for  me  !  My  cir 
cumstances,  my  associations,  my  calling,  my  posi 
tion  so  unfavorable  !  Ah,  if  only  I  was  a  minister 


THE   CHRISTIAN  GENERAL.  83 

•with  nothing  to  do  but  to  do  good,  and  study  how 
to  do  it ! 

Now  let  another  of  the  Lord's  eminent  ones  wit 
ness  for  him. 

HENRY     HAVELOCK.* 

The  gallant  soldier  and  heroic  Christian  Have- 
lock,  was  converted  on  board  the  "  General  Kyd," 
outward  bound  for  India.  He  was  young,  and  only 
a  lieutenant,  with  an  untried  sword  both  as  a  sol- 

*  A  friend  objects  to  Havelock  as  an  example,  because  he 
was  a  military  man  —  a  man  of  blood.  And  asks,  "  Can  any 
man  be  a  whole  hearted  Christian,  and  yet  a  military  man  ? 
Under  the  gospel  economy  of  the  Kingdom  of  God  can  any 
one  deliberately  select  the  profession  of  arms,  or  of  his  own 
choice  remain  in  it,  after  his  conversion,  taking  part  in  the 
bloody  scenes  of  war  as  Havelock  did,  and  yet  live  in  the 
smiles  of  Divine  approbation  and  love  from  day  to  day  ?  " 

This  is  a  grave  question  in  ethics,  and  involves  also  the  still 
broader  one  of  the  allowability  of  war  under  any  circumstances. 
Of  course  in  a  foot-note  questions  so  broad  cannot  be  discussed 
at  large.  To  answer  the  objection  in  a  manner  the  briefest  is 
all  that  can  be  thought  of. 

Is  the  objection  good? 

If  it  is  good  against  Havelock,  it  is  good  also  against  Cap 
tain  Vicars,  Colonel  Gardiner  and  General  Burns  —  all  men  of 
valor,  both  in  the  cause  of  their  country,  and  in  the  cause  of 
their  God. 

Nay,  more ;  if  good  against  these,  it  is  equally  good  against 
men  highly  commended  in  the  New  Testament  for  their  devo 
tion,  and  faith. 

The  first  Gentile  to  whom  the  gospel  was  preached,  as  a  Gen 
tile,  was  a  Roman  military  officer,  Cornelius,  a  centurion  of  the 
Italian  Band,  stationed  at  Cesarea,  which  was  then  the  local  seat 


84  THE   HIGHER   CHRISTIAN  LIFE. 

dier  and  a  Christian,  but  destined  to  great  deeds  in 
both  fields.  His  enlistment  was  as  hearty  under 
the  banner  of  the  Lion  of  the  tribe  of  Judah,  as 
under  the  lion  of  Britain,  and  his  commission  from 

of  government  and  centre  of  military  affairs  for  Judea.  And 
the  pen  of  inspiration  commends  him  as  devout,  liberal,  and 
prayerful,  even  before  the  Apostle  Peter  was  sent  to  preach 
Christ  to  him  at  his  house,  and  informs  us  that  the  Holy  Spirit 
fell  upon  him  and  his  household  while  Peter  was  speaking,  just 
as  at  Pentecost  He  had  come  upon  the  apostles.  And  yet  not 
one  word  is  said  to  him,  or  of  him,  as  if  his  profession  of  arms 
was  against  the  ethics  of  the  gospel. 

And  the  man  of  all  others  most  highly  commended  by  our 
Saviour  himself  for  his  faith,  was  also  a  Roman  military  officer. 
He  came  to  Jesus  in  the  streets  of  Capernaum,  and  said  to  him 
"  I  am  not  worthy  that  thou  shouldst  come  under  my  roof. 
Speak  the  word  and  my  servant  shall  be  healed.  For  I  also 
am  a  man  under  authority,  and  I  say  to  one,  come,  and  he  com- 
eth,  and  to  another,  do  this,  and  he  doeth  it." 

Jesus  listened  to  him.  His  appeal  based  its  illustration  upon 
his  own  military  power  and  authority  over  his  soldiers,  but 
our  Saviour  did  not  condemn  him  for  being  a  centurion.  He 
listened  with  wonder  and  admiration,  and  turned  him  about  to 
his  followers  saying,  I  have  not  found  so  great  faith,  no,  not  in 
Israel. 

The  presumptive  testimony  of  these  facts  is  altogether  against 
the  validity  of  the  objection. 

But  there  is  a  single  thought  which  is  sufficient  both  to  show 
the  baselessness  of  the  objection  and  the  consistency  of  these 
facts  with  the  ethics  of  the  gospel,  and  perhaps  also  to  furnish 
the  principle  for  the  settlement  of  the  general  question,  wheth 
er  under  the  gospel  economy  there  can  be  a  justifiable  war  ? 

What  are  the  army  and  the  navy  ? 

Are  they  not  simply  a  national  police  ? 

Are  they  not  to  the  nation  at  large  —  in  principle  — just 


HAVELOCK  AT   CALCUTTA.  85 

the  King  of  Heaven  had  the  broad  seal  of  authenti 
city  in  the  assurance  of  sins  forgiven,  as  undoubted 
and  unequivocal  as  his  commission  from  the  King 
of  his  country.  He  landed  at  Calcutta  a  soldier  of 

what  the  civic  police  is  to  the  city,  and  the  sheriffalty  and  con 
stabulary  are  to  the  country  ?  The  arm  of  the  government  for 
the  protection  of  the  honest  and  the  peaceful,  and  for  the  arrest 
and  punishment  of  the  vile  and  the  violent  ? 

Is  it  right,  or  is  it  wrong,  to  have  a  police  force  on  the  high 
seas  for  the  suppression  of  piracy  and  the  traffic  in  slaves  ?  To 
catch  the  sharks  of  commerce,  and  protect  the  weak  and 
the  exposed  ? 

One  thing  of  two  must  be.  Every  merchantman  must  be 
armed  for  self-defence,  or  the  government  must  defend  its  mer 
chantmen  by  a  navy. 

Is  it  right  for  the  nation  within  its  own  borders  to  put  down 
conspiracy,  enforce  its  laws,  preserve  order,  and  protect  innocent 
citizens  ? 

Is  it  right  to  present  a  bulwark  of  honest  hearts,  strong 
hands  and  deadly  weapons  against  the  invader  who  comes  to 
rob  and  destroy,  to  kill  and  lay  waste  ? 

Then  it  is  right  to  have  soldiers  and  sailors.  And  then  it  is 
right  for  some  to  be  soldiers  and  sailors,  and  whole  hearted 
ones  too,  if  soldiers  and  sailors  at  all. 

There  is  nothing  in  that  to  hinder  being  whole  hearted  Chris 
tians  at  the  same  time. 

Is  there  anything  wrong  in  being  a  justice,  or  alderman,  or 
mayor,  or  judge,  or  governor,  or  president  ?  No  more  is  there 
in  being  a  captain,  or  general  or  commodore. 

Is  there  anything  in  the  office  of  our  civic  police,  if  dis 
charged  honestly,  boldly,  prayerfully,  to  grieve  the  Spirit  of 
God,  or  cause  the  frown  of  the  Most  High  ?  No  more  is  there 
in  being  a  soldier  or  a  sailor. 

The  question  concerning  any  particular  war,  of  course  must 
turn  upon  the  particular  circumstances  of  the  case.  Each  case 


86  THE   HIGHER   CHRISTIAN   LIFE. 

the  cross.  But  there  God  had  in  store  for  him  yet 
better  things.  It  was  not  in  Havelock's  nature  to 
hide  his  colors.  His  uniform  did  not  more  fully 
declare  his  profession  as  a  military  man,  than  did 

must  be  judged  of  by  itself,  just  as  each  civil  suit,  and  each 
criminal  prosecution  must  be  separately  judged. 

Without  question  there  is  always  wrong  on  one  side  if  not  on 
both.  It;  could  not  be  otherwise. 

But  the  question  concerning  the  constitutionality  of  the  mili 
tary  under  the  economy  of  the  gospel  turns  upon  the  necessity 
there  is  for  a  national  police  to  hold  the  lawless,  whether 
amongst  nations,  or  amongst  the  separate  communities  of  each 
nation  in  check,  and  for  punishing  the  desperadoes  who  seek 
honor  or  gain  at  the  expense  of  the  honest  and  peaceful. 

Taking  this  broad  view  of  the  subject,  we  at  once  see  how 
Havelock,  and  Vicars,  and  Gardiner,  and  Burns  could  bask 
every  day  in  the  sunshine  of  God's  favor,  while  at  the  same 
time  they  were  honestly  and  earnestly  doing  their  duty  as  sol 
diers,  whether  in  camp,  or  on  the  march,  or  in  the  heat  of  the 
battle. 

And  we  see,  too,  how  the  centurions  could  be  commended,  as 
they  were,  for  their  extraordinary  devotion  and  faith,  while  yet 
they  wore  the  uniform,  and  bore  the  commission  of  lloman 
military  officers. 

And  we  see,  also,  how  John  the  Baptist  could  consistently  an 
swer  the  soldiers  who  came  to  him  as  he  did.  Soldiers  came  to 
him  there  on  the  banks  of  the  Jordan,  asking,  "  And  what 
shall  we  do  ?  "  As  if  their  case  was  different  from  that  of  citi 
zens.  Must  we  abandon  the  service  of  Csesar  to  enter  the 
service  of  God  ?  was  perhaps  the  substanee  of  their  question. 
So  at  least  the  answer  of  John  intimates.  John  told  them  to 
do  violence  to  no  man — accuse  none  falsely — and  be  content 
with  their  wages.  That  is,  if  you  will  serve  God,  the  service 
of  Caesar  does  not  stand  in  your  way  if  you  will  only  not  be 
seditious  on  account  of  your  wages,  nor  rob  any  one,  or  accuse 


MET   AGAIN   BY  THE   SAVIOUR.  87 

his  uniform  Christian  conduct,  his  position  in  the 
Church  militant.  Once  fairly  settled  at  Fort  Wil 
liam,  he  sought  out  those  in  Calcutta,  distinguished 
in  the  service  of  his  own  new  found  Captain  and 
King,  and  his  intercourse  with  them  was  greatly 
blessed.  His  conversion  was  onboard  the  "General 
Kyd."  It  was  then  on  the  high  seas  that  he  was 
met  by  Him  of  whom  the  Psalmist  said,  "  Help  is 
laid  upon  one  mighty  to  save,  whose  hand  is  in  the 
sea."  But  now  in  the  British  Indian  Capital,  and 
ir  the  Fortress  the  same  glorious  Saviour  met  him 
again,  and  opened  his  eyes  more  fully  than  ever, 
and  revealed  himself  to  him  anew.  His  biographer 
says  of  this  second  conversion,  that,  "  The  scriptures 

any  falsely  to  get  money,  but  be  true  God-fearing  soldiers  of 
Ca?sar  at  the  same  time  that  you  are  true  soldiers  of  God. 

Now,  however,  turning  the  tables,  if  this  view  is  correct  and 
the  military  profession  is  lawful  and  right,  judged  by  the  gospel 
itself,  then  the  example  of  Havelock  remains  in  full  force.  He 
could  be,  as  indeed  he  was,  a  gallant  hero  in  the  defence  of  his 
national  flag,  and  in  the  rescue  of  his  imperilled  fellow-country 
men  and  fellow-christians,  and  also,  and  more  nobly  a  hero, 
under  the  standard  of  the  cross,  and  in  the  rescue  of  immortal 
souls  from  a  fate  more  terrible  than  that  of  torture  or  massacre 
by  Hindoo  or  Mussulman. 

And  his  example  is  the  more  brilliant  and  noble  from  the  fact 
that  he  rose  above  all  the  temptations  of  both  peace  and  war, 
in  an  army  and  in  a  country,  where  faith  and  grace  are  tried  to 
the  utmost. 

Havelock's  is  indeed  an  illustrious  example,  both  from  the 
lustre  of  his  name  and  the  lustre  of  his  course,  and  from  the 
dark  sky  out  of  which  his  star  shone  so  steadily  in  its  un- 
dimned,  ever  increasing  brilliance. 


88  THE  HIGHER    CHRISTIAN    LIFE. 

opened  to  him  in  yet  greater  fulness,  and  his  con 
secration  to  his  Master's  service  assumed  yet  greater 
intelligence  and  force." 

Now  Havelock  would  have  been  a  distinguished 
soldier,  and  a  decided  Christian  without  doubt,  even 
if  he  had  not  been  met  and  blessed  the  second  time 
as  he  was.  But  to  understand  the  philosophy  of  his 
unswerving  dauntlessness  in  religion,  and  the  deep 
solicitude  he  felt  for  the  conversion  of  his  soilders, 
and  of  the  heathen,  to  find  the  source  of  the  steady 
brilliance  of  his  light,  we  must  look  to  the  two 
scenes,  the  first  on  the  "  General  Kyd,"  but  not  less 
to  the  second  in  "  Fort  William,"  and  see  how  there 
the  living  union  was  formed,  first  and  then  more 
fully  opened,  afterward  by  faith  between  him  and 
his  Saviour,  that  living  union  which  like  the  tubes 
from  the  living  olive  trees  in  the  vision  of  the 
prophet,  poured  the  golden  oil  in  constant  current 
into  the  golden  lamps,  keeping  their  light  ever  fresh, 
never  dim.  His  after  life  as  a  man,  a  soldier,  and 
a  Christian,  was  but  the  unfolding  of  the  elements 
then  fully  set  at  work,  to  make  him  what  he  was, 
under  the  constant  presence,  and  culture,  and  prov 
idence  of  his  Captain  and  King. 

Now  suppose  Havelock  had  said  in  the  first  in 
stance,  as  doubtless  he  may  have  been  tempted  to 
say,  and  as  some  of  his  fellow-officers  in  the  service, 
and  fellow-voyagers  in  the  General  Kyd  did  probably 
say,  "  Not  for  me  ?  "  Or  in  the  second  instance  — 
where  now  would  have  been  the  record  which  has 


"I   MUST  HAVE   IT."  89 

thrilled  all  Christendom  with  wonder  and  delight, 
the  record  which  is  on  high  ?  Where  ?  And  yet 
he,  a  youth,  and  a  subordinate  officer,  amongst  scoff 
ing  fellow-officers,  and  amongst  a  soldiery  not  over 
devout  or  pure,  going  into  a  heathen  land,  and  his 
trade  war,  and  his  profession  ambition.  Surely  he 
might  have  exclaimed  with  a  sigh  of  despair.  "  My 
circumstances !  Oh,  my  circumstances !  Not  for 
me  !  not  for  me !  "  Yet  it  was  for  him,  and  it  is 
for  you  too,  if  through  unbelief  you  do  not  reject  it. 
Again  let  me  entreat  you,  weigh  it  well !  Again  let 
me  ask  you,  can  you  reject  it  and  be  innocent. 

But  my  temperament  !  With  my  perplexities 
and  trials  Ah !  my  temperament  would  never  allow 
me  to  live  in  it,  if  I  should  gain  it."  Of  all  the 
pleas  put  in  by  those  already  convinced  of  the  reality 
and  blessedness  of  full  salvation,  this  is  the  most 
frequent ;  and  the  most  plausible  too  to  those  who 
so  plead,  and  yet  of  all  it  is  the  most  foolish  and 
groundless. 

The  plea  in  all  reason  and  common  sense  ought 
to  be  reversed.  It  should  be.  Ah  1  my  tempera 
ment  and  my  temptations  !  I  can  never  live  unless 
I  do  have  the  fulness  of  faith,  and  the  fulness  of  sal 
vation.  I  must  have  it.  Whatever  others  may  do 
who  have  less  to  contend  with,  I  must  have  it,  and 
by  the  grace  of  God  I  will. 

To  make  our  very  necessities  a  plea  for  rejecting 
instead  of  receiving  it,  is  against  all  reason.  Just  as 
well  might  the  poor  cripple,  who  can  only  walk  a 


90  THE   HIGHER  CHRISTIAN  LIFE. 

few  steps  at  a  time  without  falling  down,  make  that 
a  plea  for  refusing  the  strong  arm  of  a  willing 
brother  who  offers  to  hold  him  up,  and  help  him  on 
to  the  end.  And  just  as  well  might  a  poor  sufferer 
gasping  for  breath  in  a  close  room,  dying  for  want 
of  air,  refuse  to  have  the  free  air  let  in,  on  the  plea 
that  he  could  not  breathe  with  what  he  had  already. 

If  all  was  right,  temperament  and  temper,  disposi 
tion  and  aim,  position  and  circumstances,  no  Saviour 
would  be  needed.  As  it  is,  the  more  irritable  our 
temperament,  and  irracible  our  temper,  the  more 
distracting  our  cares,  and  the  more  subtle  and  pow 
erful  our  adversaries,  and  the  worse  our  associations, 
the  more  we  need  a  Saviour,  and  the  more  we  need 
all  the  fulness  of  faith,  and  salvation. 

Says  He  who  walketh  in  glory  amidst  the  golden 
candlesticks,  "  I  counsel  thee  to  buy  of  me  gold 
tried  in  the  fire,  that  thou  mayest  be  rich ;  and 
white  raiment,  that  thou  mayest  be  clothed,  that  the 
shame  of  thy  nakedness  do  not  appear  ;  and  anoint 
thine  eyes  with  eye  salve,  that  thou  mayest  see. 
Behold  I  stand  at  the  door  and  knock  ;  if  any  man 
hear  my  voice,  and  open  the  door,  I  will  come  in  ta 
him,  and  will  sup  with  him,  and  he  with  me.  To 
him  that  overcometh  I  will  give  to  sit  with  me  upon 
my  throne,  even  as  1  also  overcame,  and  am  set 
down  with  my  Father  on  His  throne." 

"  Rise  !  touched  with  love    divine, 
Turn  out  his  enemy,  and  thine, 
That  soul  destroying  monster,  sin, 
And  let  the  heavenly  stranger  in ! " 


THE  HIGHER  CHRISTIAN  LIFE. 


PART  II. 


HOW    ATTAINED, 


"  HE   WENT  AND   SOLD  ALL  THAT  HE  HAD   AND  BOUGHT  THAT   FIELD 

— Parable  of  the  Pearl. 


HAVE  FAITH  IN  GOD."— Command  of  our  Lord. 


"THE  GIFT  OF  GOD  is  ETERNAL  LIFE  THROUGH  OUR  LORD  JESUS 
CHRIST."  — St.  Paul. 


"  YET  HALF  MANKIND  MAINTAIN  A  CHURLISH  STRIFE, 
WITH  HIM,  THE  DONOR  OF  ETERNAL  LIFE, 
BECAUSE  THE  DEED  BY  WHICH  HIS  LOVE  CONFIRMS 
THE  LARGESS  HK  BESTOWS,  PRESCRIBES  THE  TERMS  ; 

ACCEPT  IT  ONLY,   AND  THE  BOON  IS  YOURS."— Cowper. 


PART    II. 


CHAPTER  I. 


FOR   ME*  WHAT  THEN  MUST  I  DO  ? 

"  THEN  PETER  SAID  UNTO  THEM,  REPENT  AND  BE  BAPTIZED  EVERT 
ONE  OF  YOU  IN  THE  NAME  OF  THE  LORD   JESUS  CfiKIST,  FOR  THE 

REMISSION     OF     SINS,     AND     YE     SHALL    RECEIVE    THE     GIFT     OF   THE 

HOLY  GHOST."    Acts  ii :  38. 

THE  Apostle  Peter's  answer  to  the  question 
["  what  must  we  do  ?"]  of  those  pricked  to  the  heart 
by  his  pungent  words  on  the  day  of  Pentecost,  was 
substantially  the  same  as  the  Apostle  Paul's  answer 
to  the  trembling,  prostrate  Philipian  jailer,  "  Believe 
in  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ  and  thou  shalt  be  saved." 

John  the  Baptist  taught  repentance  toward  God 
and  faith  in  the  Messiah  at  hand,  and  his  disciples, 
in  pursuance  of  his  teachings,  were  converted  to 
God,  receiving  a  change  of  heart  by  the  regenerat 
ing  power  of  the  Holy  Spirit.  But  at  the  same 
time,  John  taught  his  disciples  that  the  Lord  Jesus 
Christ  —  the  one  standing  amongst  them — the 

93 


94  THE   HIGHER  CHRISTIAN   LIFE. 

latchet  of  whose  shoes  the  great  prophet  was  not 
worthy  to  unloose  —  would  baptize  them  with  the 
Holy  Ghost  and  with  fire. 

And  when  the  Holy  Ghost  came  upon  the  disci 
ples  of  Jesus  on  the  day  of  Pentecost,  in  the  power 
of  this  new  baptism,  the  Apostle  Peter  assured  the 
wondering  multitudes  that  it  was  Jesus,  who  being 
risen  from  the  dead  had  shed  forth  this  which  they 
saw  and  heard.  It  was  the  ascension  gift  bestowed 
apon  his  disciples  by  the  enthroned  and  glorified 
Messiah. 

The  Scriptures  everywhere  teach  us  the  same 
thing.  They  always  answer  the  question,  "  What 
must  we  do  ? "  by  the  assurance,  "  Believe  in  the 
Lord  Jesus  Christ  and  thou  shalt  be  saved."  Wheth 
er  the  question  relates  to  justification  or  sanctifica- 
tion  the  answer  is  the  same.  The  way  of  freedom 
from  sin  is  the  very  same,  as  the  way  of  freedom 
from  condemnation.  Faith  in  the  purifying  pres 
ence  of  Jesus  brings  the  witness  of  the  Spirit  with 
our  spirits  that  Jesus  is  our  sanctification,  that  the 
power  and  dominion  of  sin  is  broken,  that  we  are 
free,  just  as  faith  in  the  atoning  merit  of  the  blood 
and  obedience  of  Christ  for  us,  brings  the  witness 
of  the  Spirit  that  we  are  now  no  longer  under  con 
demnation  for  sin,  but  freely  and  fully  justified  in 
Jesus. 

In  the  next  chapter  the  facts  that  Jesus  is  the 
all-sufficient  Saviour,  and  that  faith  is  the  all- 


DANGER  OF  MISAPPREHENSION.  95 

inclusive  condition  of  salvation  will  be  shown  more 
at  large.  In  this  it  may  be  well  to  guard  against  a 
misapprehension,  almost  sure  to  arise. 

There  may  seem  to  be  in  what  has  already  been 
said,  and  still  more  in  what  remains  to  be  said,  an 
engrossing  of  all  the  offices,  attributes  and  relations 
of  the  Godhead  —  as  we  are  interested  in  them  — 
in  the  Son  of  God  alone.  God  forbid  that  there 
should  be  even  in  appearance  any  robbery  of  the 
glory  due  to  the  Father  and  the  Spirit.  A  few 
thoughts  may  serve  now,  to  set  this  matter  right  be 
fore  in  appearance  it  shall  have  gone  too  far  wrong. 

The  attentive  reader  of  the  Acts  of  the  Apostles 
can  hardly  fail  to  see  that  if  the  title  of  that  sacred 
book  was  changed  to  the  Works  of  the  Holy  Spirit, 
instead  of  the  Acts  of  the  Apostles,  it  would  be 
quite  as  appropriate  as  it  now  is.  It  opens  with  a 
history  of  the  advent  of  the  Spirit,  on  the  day  of 
Pentecost,  and  proceeds  with  an  account  of  the 
fruits  of  this  baptism  in  the  boldness,  energy,  wis 
dom,  and  power  of  the  Apostles,  and  in  the  activity, 
union,  happiness,  and  fellowship  of  the  disciples, 
and  in  the  triumphs  of  the  gospel.  Every  where  it 
attributes  to  the  Holy  Spirit  the  government  and 
guidance  of  the  apostles.  Separating  them  for 
their  missions,  hindering  them  when  they  essayed  to 
go  wrong,  pointing  out  to  them  the  right  way, 
attending  them  with  power  in  healing  diseases, 
executing  judgment,  as  in  the  case  of  Ananias  and 


96  THE   HIGHER  CHRISTIAN  LIFE. 

Sapphira,  and  giving  efficacy  to  their  words  by  falling 
upon  those  to  whom  they  spoke  while  they  were  yet 
speaking,  and,  in  general,  carrying  forward  the  whole 
work  of  God  in  the  apostolic  church.  The  Acts  of 
the  Apostles  is  really  a  history  of  the  works  of  the 
Holy  Ghost,  just  as  the  four  gospels  are  the  history 
of  the  life  and  teachings  of  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ. 

At  the  same  time  the  attentive  reader  must  also 
see  that  the  instructions  dictated  by  the  Holy  Spirit 
himself,  are  always  and  only  to  believe  on  the  Lord 
Jesus  Christ,  for  salvation.  So  that  while  salvation 
is  the  work  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  the  Lord  Jesus 
Christ,  and  not  the  Holy  Spirit,  is  the  object  of 
faith  for  salvation.  And  why  ?  Why  simply  be 
cause  the  Holy  Spirit  is  the  gift  of  Jesus  through 
faith  in  his  name. 

This  is  the  historical  teaching  of  the  case.  And 
this  is  in  full  harmony  with  the  personal  assurances 
of  Jesus  concerning  it. 

"  On  the  last  and  great  day  of  the  feast,  (of  tab 
ernacles,)  when  Jesus  stood  (in  the  temple)  and 
cried,  saying,  If  any  man  thirst  let  him  come  unto 
me  and  drink.  Whosoever  believeth  in  me,  as  the 
Scriptures  have  said,  out  of  his  belly  shall  flow 
rivers  of  living  water,"  it  is  added  in  explanation, 
"  this  spake  he  of  the  Spirit,  which  they  that  believe 
on  him  should  receive,  for  the  Holy  Ghost  was  not 
yet  given  because  that  Jesus  was  not  yet  glorified."* 

*  St.  John  vii :  37-39. 


THE  ITALIAN  REFORMER.  97 

And  afterwards,  just  before  his  crucifixion,  while 
promising  the  Holy  Ghost  as  another  comforter 
to  his  disciples  to  be  given  to  them  in  his  stead,  our 
Saviour  told  them,  that  when  he,  the  Spirit  of  truth 
is  come,  he  will  guide  you  into  all  truth :  for  he 
shall  not  speak  of  himself:  but  whatsoever  he  shall 
hear  that  shall  he  speak  :  and  he  will  show  you 
things  to  come.  He  shall  glorify  me  :  for  he  shall 
receive  of  mine,  and  shall  show  it  unto  you.  All 
things  that  the  Father  hath  are  mine  :  therefore  said 
I,  that  he  shall  take  of  mine,  and  shall  show  it  unto 
you.* 

An  intelligent  minister  of  Jesus,  whose  experience 
is  ripe,  precious  and  full  in  the  sweet  influences  of 
the  Holy  Spirit,  in  answer  to  the  question,  "  How 
do  you  think  of  the  Holy  Spirit  ?  "  said  "As  Jesus 
Omnipresent."  And  his  answer  is  in  perfect  accord 
ance  with  the  sacred  word  which  calls  the  Holy 
Spirit  the  spirit  of  Jesus. 

The  modern  Italian  reformer,  Gavazzi,  a  man  of 
genius,  amongst  othej- stirring  and  significant  things, 
delivered  a  discourse  in  London,  entitled  "  Christ 
the  justifier,  Christ  the  sanctifier,  Christ  the  glori- 
iicr."  At  first  view  this  seems  to  be  attributing  to 
Christ  the  work  of  the  Spirit ;  and  so  it  is  in  the 
strict  construction  of  the  words  in  the  form  Gavazzi 
has  given  them.  Literally  and  strictly  the  Holy 
Spirit  and  not  Christ  is  the  justifier,  and  sanctifier, 

*  St.  John  xvi :  13-15. 


98  THE   HIGHER    CHRISTIAN    LIFE. 

and  gloriner,  for  be  it  is  who  is  the  actual  worker, 
the  power  that  worketh  in  us,  preparing  the  heart, 
producing  the  faith,  and  effecting  the  salvation  in 
every  step.  But  in  the  sense  doubtless  intended, 
Jesus  is  both  justifier,  sanctifier  and  gloriner ;  that 
is,  he  is  the  object  of  faith  alike  for  each  and  all. 
And  as  the  giver  of  the  Holy  Spirit  he  is  the  worker 
also  of  all. 

In  a  sense  perfectly  true  the  artist  who  takes  our 
likenesses  in  any  form  of  the  modern  art  of  printing 
by  light,  is  the  daguerreotypist,  or  photographist,  or 
whatever  ;  but  in  a  sense  equally  true  it  is  the  sun 
itself  that  does  the  work.  The  artist  prepares  the 
plate,  arranges  the  instrument  and  the  attitude,  lets 
in  the  light  and  shuts  it  off  again  at  the  right  mo 
ment,  but  it  is  the  sun  itself  who  by  his  rays  takes 
every  line  and  feature  of  the  person,  and  dashes 
them  all  upon  the  plates.  So  while  it  is  the  work 
of  the  Spirit  to  prepare  the  heart,  open  it  to  the 
light  and  give  the  faith  of  Christ,  it  is  Christ  him 
self  whose  image  is  formed  in  the  heart,  the  hope  of 
glory.  And  who  at  the  same  time  is  himself  the 
Sun  of  Righteousness  unveiled  by  the  Spirit,  whose 
rays  paint  the  image  on  the  prepared  tablet.  Ac 
cording  to  the  apostle's  saying,  that  we  all  beholding 
Him  as  in  a  glass,  are  changed  from  glory  to  glory 
into  his  image  even  as  by  the  Spirit  of  the  Lord.* 

Strictly  and  literally,  Jesus  is  our  justification  and 

*  2  Corinthians,  iii.  18. 


THE    HOLY    TRINITY.  99 

sanctification  and  glorification  ;  and  the  Holy  Spirit 
is  our  justifier,  sanctifier  and  glorifier.  When  there 
fore  we  trust  wholly  in  Jesus  for  all,  we  do  not  rob  the 
Holy  Spirit  of  the  honor  justly  his  due,  but  we  honor 
him  by  complying  with  his  teachings  and  showing  his 
work  ;  for  as  the  Scriptures  have  said,  No  man  can 
say  that  Jesus  is  the  Christ,  (understanding  what 
he  says,)  but  by  the  Holy  Ghost.  So,  likewise,  by 
trusting  wholly  in  Jesus,  we  honor  also  the  Father. 
And  this  for  two  reasons,  not  to  speak  of  others  at 
present.  First,  Jesus  is  the  express  image  of  the 
Father  —  the  Father's  representative  to  us,  the  ful 
ness  of  the  Father  made  manifest  to  us  in  the 
flesh,  and  so  honoring  Jesus  we  honor  the  Father. 

And  then,  again,  the  Father  is  the  author  and 
planner  of  salvation  through  faith  in  his  Son ;  and 
when  we  trust  in  his  Son  we  honor  the  Father,  be 
cause  we  accept  of  his  plan  of  salvation  for  us,  jus 
tify  his  wisdom,  and  act  in  accordance  with  his  will 
in  the  matter.  A  glance  at  the  official  and  essential 
relations  of  the  persons  of  the  Holy  Trinity  to  each 
other  and  to  us,  may  throw  additional  light  upon 
our  pathway.  Upon  this  subject  flippancy  would 
border  upon  blasphemy.  It  is  holy  ground.  He 
who  ventures  upon  it  may  well  tread  with  unshod 
foot,  and  uncovered  head  bowed  low. 

Speculation  here,  too,  is  entirely  out  of  place,  un 
safe,  not  worth  the  ink  used  in  the  writing.  The  lamp 
of  human  reason  is  a  light  too  dim  to  guide  us 


100  THE  HIGHER  CHRISTIAN  LIFE. 

through  the  profound  mysteries  of  the  mode  of  the 
divine  existence  and  the  methods  of  the  dirine  man 
ifestation  and  working.  God  alone  knows  what  God 
is.  And  God  only  can  communicate  to  man  what 
man  can  be  made  to  know  of  God,  especially  of  the 
personalities  of  the  Godhead,  and  of  their  relations 
to  each  other  and  to  us. 

Revelation  must  be  our  guide.  Beyond  what 
God  has  revealed,  we  know  nothing.  The  sacred 
Word  is  all  the  light  we  have  in  this  matter.  In  a 
sense  scriptural,  and  true  Christ  is  "  all  the  fulness 
of  the  Godhead  bodily."  "  The  express  image  of 
the  invisible  God."  "  The  fulness  of  Him  who  fill- 
eth  all  in  all."  The  fulness  of  the  Father  and  of 
the  Spirit.  In  a  sense  equally  scriptural  and  true, 
the  Father  is  all  the  fulness  of  the  Godhead  ;  and 
so  also  is  the  Spirit. 

The  Father  is  the  fulness  of  the  Godhead  in  invis 
ibility,  without  form,  whom  no  creature  hath  seen 
or  can  see. 

The  Son  is  the  fulness  of  the  Godhead  embodied, 
that  his  creatures  may  see  him,  and  know  him,  and 
trust  him. 

The  Spirit  is  the  fulness  of  the  Godhead  in  all  the 
active  workings,  whether  of  creation,  providence, 
revelation,  or  salvation,  by  which  God  manifests 
himself  to  and  through  the  universe. 

The  counsels  of  eternity  are  therefore  all  hidden 
in  the  Father,  all  manifested  by  the  Son,  and  all 


THE  THOUGHT  AND  THE  WORD.       101 

wrought  by  the  Spirit.     Let  us  glance  first  at  the 
official  relations  of  the  persons  of  the  Godhead. 

To  gain  something  like  distinct  ideas  of  these  di 
vine  relations  we  need  to  be  lifted  up  in  thought,  as 
the  eyes  of  the  patriarch  Jacob  were  at  Bethel,  by  a 
ladder  with  its  foot  on  the  earth  but  its  top  in 
heaven.  Such  a  ladder  the  Bible  sets  up  before  us 
in  the  names  and  similies  of  the  persons  and  work, 
especially  of  the  Son  and  the  Spirit.  The  Son  is 
called  the  Word,  the  Logos.  Now  a  word  before  it 
has  taken  on  articulate  form  is  thought.  The  word 
is  the  express  image  of  the  thought,  the  fulness  of 
the  thought  made  manifest.  So  the  Son  is  the  ful 
ness  of  the  Godhead  made  manifest.  The  thought 
is  the  fulness  of  the  word  not  yet  made  manifest.  So 
the  Father  is  the  fulness  of  the  Godhead  invisible. 
Again  the  Spirit  is  like  the  thought  expressed  and 
gone  forth  to  do  its  work  of  enlightening,  con 
vincing,  changing.  When  a  thought  has  been 
formed  into  words,  risen  to  the  tongue,  fallen  from 
the  lips  upon  other  ears,  into  other  hearts,  it  works 
there  its  own  full  work.  So  the  Holy  Spirit  is  the 
fulness  of  the  Godhead  at  work  fulfilling  the  designs 
of  God. 

THE  FATHER  is  LIKE  THE  THOUGHT  UNEXPRESSED. 
THE  SON  is  LIKE  THE  THOUGHT  EXPRESSED  IN  WORDS. 
THE  SPIRIT  is  LIKE  THE  WORD  WORKING  IN  OTHER  MINDS. 

Another  of  the  names  of  Jesus  will  give  the  sam ; 


102  THE   HIGHER   CHRISTIAN   LIFE. 

analogies  in  alight  riot  less  striking —  T/IQ  Sun  oj 
Righteousness. 

All  the  light  of  the  sun  in  the  heavens  was  once 
hidden  in  the  invisibility  of  primal  darkness ;  and 
after  this,  the  light  now  blazing  in  the  orb  of  day 
was,  when  first  the  command  when  forth,  Let  light 
be  !  and  light  was,  at  most  only  the  diffused  haze  of 
the  gray  dawn  of  the  morn  of  creation  out  of  the 
darkness  of  chaotic  night,  without  form,  or  body,  or 
centre,  or  radiance,  or  glory.  But  when  separated 
from  the  darkness  and  centered  in  the  sun,  then  w 
its  glorious  glitter  it  became  so  resplendent  that 
none  but  the  eagle  eye  could  bear  to  look  it  in  the 
face. 

But  then  again  its  rays  falling  aslant  through 
earth's  atmosphere  and  vapors,  gladdens  all  the 
world  with  the  same  light,  dispelling  the  winter,  and 
the  cold,  and  the  darkness  ;  starting  Spring  forth  in 
floral  beauty,  and  Summer  in  vernal  luxuriance, 
and  Autumn  laden  with  golden  treasures  for  the 
garner. 

THE  FATHER  is  AS  THE  LIGHT  INVISIBLE. 
THE  SON  is  AS  THE  LIGHT  EMBODIED. 
THE  SPIRIT  is  AS  THE  LIGHT  SHED  DOWN. 

One  of  the  similies  for  the  blessed  influences  of 
the  SPIRIT,  while  giving  the  self-same  official  rela 
tions  of  the  persons  of  the  Godhead,  to  each  other 
and  to  us,  may  illustrate  them  still  further,— The 


THE   VAPOR   AND   THE   DEW.  103 

Dew, — The  dew  of  Hermon  —  the  dew  on  the  mown 
meadow.  Before  the  dew  gathers  at  all  in  drops,  it 
hangs  over  all  the  landscape  in  invisible  vapor,  om 
nipresent  but  unseen.  By  and  by  as  the  night 
wanes  into  morning,  and  as  the  temperature  sinks 
and  touches  the  dew  point  the  invisible  becomes  the 
visible,  the  embodied  ;  and,  as  the  sun  rises, it  stands 
in  diamond  drops  trembling  and  glittering  in  the 
sun's  young  beams  in  pearly  beauty  upon  leaf  and 
flower,  over  all  the  face  of  nature. 

But  now  again,  a  breeze  springs  up,  the  breath  of 
heaven  is  wafted  gently  along,  shaking  leaf  and 
flower,  and  in  a  moment  the  pearly  drops  are  invisi 
ble  again.  But  where  now  ?  Fallen  at  the  root  of 
herb  and  flower  to  impart  new  life,  freshness,  vigor 
to  all  it  touches. 

THE  FATHER  is  LIKE  THE  DEW  IN  INVISIBLE  VAPOR. 

THE  SON  is  LIKE  THE  DEW  GATHERED  IN  BEAUTEOUS  FORM. 

THE  SPIRIT  is  LIKE  THE  DEW  FALLEN  TO  THE  SEAT  OF  LIFE. 

Yet  one  more  of  these  Bible  likenings  —  by  no 
means  exhausting  them  —  will  not  be  unwelcome, 
or  useless,  —  the  Rain. 

Rain,  like  the  dew,  floats  in  invisibility,  and  om 
nipresence  at  the  first,  over  all,  around  all.  Seen  by 
none.  While  it  remains  in  its  invisibility,  the  earth 
parches,  clods  cleave  together,  the  ground  cracks 
open,  the  siln  pours  down  his  burning  heat,  the 
winds  lift  up  the  dust  in  circling  whirls,  and  rolling 


104  THE   HIGHER   CHRISTIAN  LIFE. 

clouds,  and  famine  gaunt  and  greedy  stalks  through 
the  land,  followed  by  pestilence  and  death.  By  and 
by,  the  eager  watcher  sees  the  little  hand-like  cloud 
rising  far  out  over  the  sea.  It  gathers,  gathers, 
gathers ;  comes  and  spreads  as  it  comes,  in  majesty 
over  the  whole  heavens  :  —  But  all  is  parched  and 
dry  and  dead  yet,  upon  earth. 

But  now  comes  a  drop,  and  drop  after  drop, 
quicker,  faster — the  shower,  the  rain — sweeping 
on,  and  giving  to  earth  all  the  treasures  of  the 
clouds — clods  open,  furrows  soften,  springs,  rivu 
lets,  rivers,  swell  and  fill,  and  all  the  land  is  glad 
dened  again  with  restored  abundance. 

THE  FATHER  is  LIKE  TO  THE  INVISIBLE  VAPOR. 
THE  Sox  is  AS  THE  LADEN  CLOUD  AND  FALLING  RAIN. 

THE  SPIRIT  is  THE  RAIN  —  FALLEN  AND  WORKING  IN   RE 
FRESHING  POWER. 

These  likenings  are  all  imperfect.  They  rather 
hide  than  illustrate  the  tri-personality  of  the  one 
God,  for  they  are  not  persons  but  things,  poor  and 
earthly  at  best,  to  represent  the  living  personalities 
of  the  living  God.  So  much  they  may  do,  however, 
as  to  illustrate  the  official  relations  of  each  to  the 
others  and  of  each  and  all  to  us.  And  more.  They 
may  also  illustrate  the  truth  that  all  the  fulness  of 
Him  who  filleth  all  in  all,  dwells  in  each  person  of 
the  Triune  God. 


ME  *'        A 

"E1"  SITY 

DIVINE  PEESONALITIEA.  105 


THE  FATHER  is  ALL  THE  FULNESS  OF  THE  GODITEAD  INVISI 
BLE. 

THE  SON  is  ALL  THE  FULNESS  OF  THE  GODHEAD  MAN 
IFESTED. 

THE  SPIRIT  is  ALL  THE  FULNESS  OF  THE  GODHEAD  MAKING 
MANIFEST. 

The  persons  are  not  mere  offices,  or  modes  of  reve 
lation,  but  living- persons  of  the  living  God* 

*Olshausen  in  his  commentary,  vol.  ii.  p.  310,  Am.  edition, 
on  John  1:3,  makes  a  profound  suggestion  of  the  relation  be 
tween  the  Father  and  the  Son,  well  worthy  of  being  expanded, 
and  weighed  with  all  candor  and  care. 

On  critical  grounds,  as  inadmissible  without  manifest  violence 
to  the  text,  he  discards  the  Sabellian  idea  of  no  distinction,  save 
that  of  office,  between  the  Father  and  the  Son  ;  and  also  the 
Arian  idea,  on  the  other  extreme,  of  a  distinction  not  only,  but 
of  an  inequality  both  of  honors  and  powers,  the  Son  being  inter 
mediate  between  God  and  man,  a  sort  of  divine  creature. 

And  then  putting  together  the  two  definite  doctrines  well 
established  by  the  Scriptures,  the  unity  of  God,  and  the  perfect 
equality  of  the  Father  and  the  Son  in  honors,  and  in  properties, 
together  with  the  clear  distinction  between  the  two,  shown  by 
the  fact  that  the  Son  was  not  only  God,  but  was  also  with  God 
in  the  beginning  ;  he  remarks  that  these  afford  an  idea  of  the 
relation  of  the  Son  to  the  Father,  viz.,  that  the  Son  is  the  self- 
manifestation  of  the  Father  to  himself,  or  the  perfect  concep 
tion  of  himself  imaged  forth  to  himself.  "  Tlie  perfect  God 
forms  a  perfect  conception  of  himself,  MS  conception  is  essence, 
and  his  conception  of  himself  is  an  essence  like  himself." 
These  are  his  words. 

A  moment's  consideration  of  the  difference  between  God  and 
man,  as  to  the  embodiment  of  their  respective  conceptions,  will 
show  the  profound  beauty  of  this  suggestion  of  the  learned  com 
mentator,  whether  his  idea  shall  be  received  as  true  or  not. 
5* 


106  THE   HIGHER   CHRISTIAN  LIFE. 

Now  as  to  the  essential  relations  of  the  three,  the 
Scriptures  speak  of  each  precisely  as  if  each  were  a 
living  person,  and  not  a  mere  official  relation  of  the 
one  person  in  three  different  connections,  or  adapta- 

The  conceptions  of  men  are  only  imperfectly  realized  in 
their  productions.  A  man's  own  conception  of  himself  may  be 
partially  embodied  in  a  statue  chizzled  from  the  marble.  But 
however  perfect  he  may  make  it  as  a  work  of  art,  it  is  all  imper 
fection  as  a  realization  of  his  own  conception  of  himself.  It  is  only 
a  cold,  lifeless,  colorless  piece  of  marble  at  last,  and  not  at  all 
the  living  being,  bodied  in  his  own  idea  of  what  he  himself  is. 
He  may  make  a  better  representation  of  himself  on  the  canvas, 
if  his  is  the  skill  of  the  painter,  and  the  genius  of  the  Master  ; 
but  the  best  he  can  do  after  all,  with  the  genius  of  a  Raphael,  or 
a  Reynolds,  will  be  no  more  than  a  painted  representation  of 
the  picture  of  his  own  real  self,  in  his  own  living  conception. 

Better  still  he  may  do,  if  his  is  the  pen  of  the  ready  writer, 
and  the  genius  of  a  Shakspeare  to  depict  in  action,  by  word 
and  deed,  his  own  true  character ;  but  even  then,  his  is  only  a 
pen  and  ink  man  in  a  book  at  last,  and  not  at  all  the  living  man 
in  the  living  world,  of  his  own  true  conception  of  himself.  Even 
if  represented  by  the  skill  of  a  Keene,  or  a  Kemble,  on  the 
stage  to  the  very  life,  it  is  only  a  mock  of  reality,  and  not  re 
ality  at  all. 

But  God's  conception  of  himself,  is  himself  perfectly  bodied 
forth  to  himself,  and  with  himself,  a  living,  acting  being,  or  his 
conception  of  himself  realized  in  actual  existence,  and  not  in 
mere  representation. 

God's  ideas  embodied,  are  all  realities,  not  representations. 
His  idea  of  a  rock  for  example,  when  embodied,  is  a  rock,  and 
not  a  mere  picture,  or  description,  or  imitation  of  a  rock,  as 
any  representation  by  man  of  his  idea  of  a  rock  would  be. 
God's  idea  of  a  world  when  embodied  is  a  world,  and  not  a  papier 
mache  globe,  or  an  outspread  map,  or  an  elaborate  description. 


SOCIETY  IN  THE  GOD-HEAD.  107 

tions.  And  we  are  also  fully  justified  in  the  belief 
that  in  the  personalities  of  the  living  God,  in  whom 
is  all  the  fulness  of  all  things,  society  exists.  The 
beau-ideal  of  society  as  it  is  but  imperfectly  wrought 


God's  idea  of  the  great  orrery  above  and  around  us,  embodied 
as  it  is,  is  this  mighty  universe  of  real  suns  and  systems,  and 
not  a  mere  celestial  map,  or  a  magic  lantern  representation. 

God's  conception  of  living  beings,  and  living  scenes,  such  as 
have  come  upon  the  stage,  from  that  first  scene  of  love  and 
loveliness  in  Eden,  and  the  fall,  onward  to  the  end  when  the 
recovery  shall  be  celebrated  in  the  Eden  above,  embodied  is 
not  a  mere  poetic,  dramatic,  and  scenic  embodiment,  like  Mil 
ton's  and  Shakspeare's  conceptions,  but  the  realities  as  con 
ceived,  coming  on  the  stage  of  actual  life,  in  the  solemn  march 
of  truthful  existence. 

Just  so  God  the  Father's  conception  of  himself,  is  himself 
realized  in  form,  or  imaged  forth,  not  in  mere  representation 
by  description,  but  in  actual  living  existence,  a  divine  person, 
as  real  an  existence  as  he  is  himself.  And  this  living  being, 
the  embodiment  of  the  Father's  own  conception  of  himself  is 
the  Son.  The  Son  of  God,  and  he  embodied  in  the  man,  incar 
nated  and  born  of  the  virgin  is  also  the  son  of  man,  as  well  as 
the  Son  of  God. 

And  in  the  same  way  God  the  Father's  own  conception  of 
himself,  working  in  the  actual  process  of  creating,  sustaining, 
and  redeeming, — of  himself  working  all  things  according  to  the 
counsel  of  his  own  will  is,  himself,  his  other  self  so  to  speak,  a 
real  being,  truly  personal  as  either  himself  or  his  Son,  with 
every  attribute,  natural  and  moral,  all  complete,  entire,  want 
ing  nothing.  And  this  being,  the  God  'working  all  things  is  the 
Holy  Spirit ;  and  he  like  the  Son,  is  both  coequal  and  coeternal 
with  the  Father. 

This  is  the  commentator's  suggestion  expanded.  "Weigh  it 
at  your  leisure.  If  we  accept  it  as  truth,  it  will  harmonize 
some  things,  in  the  Sacred  Word  apparently  in  conflict,  and 


108  THE   HIGHER   CHRISTIAN  LIFE. 

out  in  the  social  relations  of  angels  and  men. 
Society  in  its  first  and  highest  form,  first  and  best 
of  all  in  the  Godhead.  And  society  amongst  the 

free  others  from  obscurity.  Nevertheless  in  this  matter  of  the 
essential  relations  of  the  divine  persons  in  the  Holy  Trinity,  we 
do  well  to  be  not  over  confident,  not  at  all  dictatorial  or  dog 
matic,  but  modest  and  moderate. 

In  this  view,  we  can  easily  see  how  the  Scripture  order  of  the 
persons  of  the  Trinity  come  to  be  as  they  are  in  the  record,  and 
always  so.  The  Father,  the  Son,  and  the  Holy  Ghost,  because 
from  the  Father  proceed  both  the  Son  and  the  Holy  Ghost. 
And  we  can  see  how  the  three  are,  each  equal  to  each  and  to 
all,  for  the  Son  is  the  Father  in  all  his  fulness  imaged  forth. 
And  the  Spirit  is  the  Father  working  or  making  manifest  the 
Deity  as  imaged  forth  in  the  Son,  and  all  the  plans  of  the  Deity 
in  the  works  of  creation,  having  the  Son  for  the  centre  of  all. 

And  we  can  see  at  the  same  time,  how  the  Son  though  equal 
with  the  Father,  can  yet  be  subordinate  to  him,  working  only 
the  works  given  him  to  do,  and  doing  always  the  will  of  the 
Father,  and  being  in  fact  less  than  the  Father  —  that  is  officially 
less — because  his  office  work  in  the  Divine  economy  is  subor 
dinate,  although  all  power  is  given  him  on  earth,  and  in  heaven. 
And  we  can  see  how,  while  Jesus  is  the  giver  of  the  Holy  Spirit 
to  all  who  believe  on  his  name,  yet  the  Holy  Spirit  is  promised 
as  from  the  Father,  for  he  is  both  from  the  Father,  and  yet  he 
is  the  ascension  gift  of  the  Son. 

And  we  can  see  how  the  Holy  Spirit  can  be,  and  is  equal  with 
both  the  Father  and  the  Son,  while  yet  he  is  officially  subor 
dinate  to  both,  sent  by  the  one  given  by  the  other,  and  glorify 
ing  both,  but  not  speaking  of  himself. 

And  we  can  see  how  the  Son  and  the  Spirit  can  be  truly  said 
both  to  proceed  from  God,  and  yet  to  have  been  with  God,  and 
to  have  been  God  from  the  beginning,  that  is  from  eternity. 
For  from  eternity,  God's  conception  of  himself  both  as  embodi 
ed  and  imaged  forth  in  the  word,  and  as  working  out  his  own 
counsels  in  the  created  universe,  was  perfect,  and  these  concep 
tions  were  perfectly  realized,  and  were  the  Son  and  the  Spirit. 


HONORING  FATHER,  SON,  AND   SPIRIT.  109 

creatures  of  God  in  its  best  estate,  but  a  feeble  and 
yet  a  noble  image  of  its  blessedness  and  glory  as  it 
is  in  the  perfect  social  relations  of  the  perfect  three 
in  one. 

To  go  fully  into  the  Scripture  proofs,  justifying 
these  statements,  would  break  the  thread  of  our 
general  course.  To  say  this  much  seemed  necessary 
lest  the  reader  should  be  stumbled  by  the  thought 
that  the  glory  due  to  the  Father  and  the  Spirit  was 
all  given  to  the  Son.  Enough  has  been  said  to  show 
the  way  clear  for  full  trust  in  Jesus  for  full  salvation. 
There  is  no  fear  of  honoring  the  Father  or  the 
Spirit  too  little  by  honoring  the  Son  too  much.  The 
deeper  and  fuller  and  stronger  our  trust  in  Jesus, 
the  sweeter  and  richer  the  indwelling  presence  of 
the  Spirit  will  be.  And  the  more  we  have  of  the 
indwelling  presence  and  inworking  power  of  the 
Spirit,  the  higher  our  love  and  veneration  will  rise 
for  the  Father.  Having  the  Son  we  have  the  Fath 
er  also.  And  trusting  the  Son  we  receive  the  Spirit 
who  reveals  to  us  the  Father  and  the  Son.  Full 
trust  in  Jesus  therefore,  brings  the  full  revenue  of 

And  finally,  to  come  back  to  our  starting  point,  the  paradox 
which  gave  birl  h  to  this  suggestion,  we  see  the  consistency  of 
the  apostle's  sayings,  that  in  the  beginning  the  Word  was  with 
God,  and  was  God,  and  the  same  was  in  the  beginning  with 
God.  For  from  the  first  the  word  was  formed  in  the  Infinite 
mind,  and  was  the  Infinite  mind  embodied  in  the  form,  and 
imaged  forth  to  itself,  at  one  and  the  same  time  himself  God, 
and  yet  with  God. 


110  THE  HIGHER   CHRISTIAN  LIFE. 

honor  due  to  the  Father  and  the  Son  and  the  Spirit, 
while,  from  the  Triune  God, grace,  mercy  and  peace 
are  multiplied  to  us,  and  so  the  angelic  song 
is  fulfilled  —  "  Glory  to  God  in  the  highest,  and  on 
earth  peace  and  good  will  to  men." 

To  return  for  a  moment  to  the  Apostle,  and 
to  the  Pentecostal  scene  :  Once  when  Peter  was 
in  self-confident  mood  the  Master  told  him,  that 
Satan  had  desired  to  have  him  that  he  might  sift 
him  as  wheat,  but  that  he  had  prayed  for  him 
that  his  faith  should  not  fail :  and  he  added  the  pro 
phetic  charge  :  "  When  thou  art  converted — that  is 
converted  again,  for  already  long  before  Peter 
had  been  converted — strengthen  thy  brethren." 

Satan  did  have  the  Apostle,  and  did  sift  him,  too, 
but  the  prayer  of  Jesus  was  answered  nevertheless. 
Peter  was  sifted  but  saved,  as  many  others  have 
been.  The  chaff  of  self-confidence  was  all  threshed 
off  and  winnowed  away,  leaving  the  wheat  in  its 
naked  integrity. 

By  and  by,  on  the  day  of  Pentecost,  the  time 
came  for  the  apostle's  second  conversion.  The  Holy 
Spirit  —  the  promise  of  the  Father  was  received  by 
the  Son  and  shed  down  upon  him  and  his  fellow 
disciples.  Fire  crowns  sat  upon  their  heads,  and 
with  other  tongues  they  spake  of  the  wonderful 
works  of  God.  These  tongues  of  fire  and  tongues 
of  eloquence  were,  however,  only  the  outside  sym 
bols  and  the  outspoken  manifestations  of  the  glorious 


PETER'S  RESPONSE.  Ill 

work  wrought  in  their  hearts.  They  knew  some 
thing  of  Jesus  before — but  now  for  the  first  they  began 
to  comprehend  the  length  and  breadth  and  depth  and 
height  —  and  to  know  the  love  of  Christ  which 
passeth  knowledge,  and  to  be  filled  with  all  the 
fulness  of  God.  And  now  for  the  first  the  wisdom 
of  God  in  the  plan  of  redemption  began  to  unfold 
to  their  view.  Great  as  were  the  external  signs  of 
that  work  the  internal  work  itself  was  far  greater. 
And  it  was  the  beginning  of  a  life-long  process,  in 
the  course  of  which,  more  and  more,  from  day  to 
day,  the  things  of  God  were  unfolded  to  them,  and 
more  and  more  they  were  transformed  into  the 
image  of  Jesus. 

This  for  themselves.  Then  also  began  the  prom 
ised  power,  with  them  of  witnessing  effectively  for 
Jesus.  That  very  day,  what  a  work  was  wrought 
by  means  of  their  testimony. 

The  fame  of  these  things  was  noised  abroad,  from 
street  to  street  through  the  city,  and  multitudes 
thronged  to  the  temple  to  see  and  hear  these  strange 
things  for  themselves.  Many  believed  and  received 
like  baptism  from  on  high.  Others  mocked,  saying, 
"  These  men  are  filled  with  new  wine."  This 
charge  of  drunkenness  —  a  blasphemy  against  God 
who  wrought  it,  and  a  slander  upon  the  disciples 
in  whom  the  glorious  excitement  was  wrought, — 
brought  Peter  quickly  to  his  feet.  Now  he  was 
ready  to  obey  the  Master's  sacred  command.  He 


112  THE  HIGHER  CHRISTIAN  LIFE. 

rose  amidst  his  brethren  —  in  the  full  strength, 
and  glow,  and  boldness  of  his  new  conversion  —  to 
strengthen  and  defend  them,  and  give  glory  to  God. 

The  adversaries  were  silenced  by  his  arguments, 
and  cut  to  the  heart  by  the  charges  boldly  brought 
against  them  as  the  betrayers  and  murderers  of  the 
Lord  of  glory  —  the  Lord  Jesus,  who  had  shed 
down  the  Holy  Spirit  whose  works  they  saw  and 
heard. 

Some  gnashed  on  him  in  their  rage,  but  others 
were  stricken  down  into  contrition,  and  when  in 
broken-hearted  penitence,  they  earnestly  inquired 
what  they  should  do,  Peter  directed  them  at  once  to 
Jesus  as  the  sole  object  of  trust,  telling  them  to 
"  Repent  and  be  baptized  in  the  name  of  the 
Lord  Jesus  Christ,"  and  assuring  them  that  they 
should  "  receive  the  Holy  Ghost."  Thousands  be 
lieved,  and  obeyed,  and  realized  the  promise  in  their 
own  happy  experience. 

A  great  work  was  wrought  on  that  day  —  a  work 
to  be  had  in  everlasting  remembrance.  Many  were 
then  for  the  first  time  convinced  of  their  sins  and  con 
verted  to  God.  Many  more  who  had  already  been 
converted  under  the  preaching  of  John  the  Baptist, 
and  of  Jesus  himself,  and  of  the  twelve,  and  the 
seventy,  were  converted  anew,  and  filled  with  faith 
and  the  Holy  Ghost.  And  one  thing  may  be  safely 
affirmed  of  both  alike,  those  converted  again,  and 
those  now  converted  for  the  first,  that  in  every  case, 


THE  GROUNDLESS   FEAR.  113 

trust  in  Jesus  was  the  sole  condition  of  the   work 
wrought  in  them. 

The  apostle  Peter  did  not  say  to  the  one,  Believe 
in  the  Lord  Jesus  and  ye  shall  be  converted,  and  to 
the  other,  Watch,  pray,  struggle,  read,  fast,  work, 
and  you  shall  be  sanctified.  But  to  one  and  all  he 
said,  Repent  and  be  baptized,  every  one  of  you,  in 
the  name  of  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  and  ye  shall 
receive  the  Holy  Ghost.  And  yet  another  thing 
may  be  as  safely  affirmed  of  them  all  alike  ;  that 
every  one  who  did  really  believe  and  obey  did  ac 
tually  receive  the  Holy  Spirit,  whether  in  the  power 
of  first  or  second  conversion.  Wherefore  as  the 
sum  of  all,  let  it  be  settled  as  truth  never  to  be 
doubted,  that  for  salvation  in  any  stage  or  degree 

Jesus  alone  is  The  Way, 
And  Faitli  alone  is  the  Means. 

Connected  with  this  line  of  thought  there  is  one 
thing  more  to  be  noted,  which  must  conclude  this 
chapter.  There  is  often  a  fearfulness  in  addressing 
prayer  to  Christ  and  to  the  Holy  Spirit.  Frequently 
the  devout  and  earnest  worshipper  appeals  to  Christ 
and  then  checks  himself  as  if  it  were  wrong,  and 
turns  in  his  appeal  to  the  Father  in  the  name  of  the 
Son,  as  if  afraid  that  the  appeal  to  the  Son  might  be 
offensive  to  the  Father. 

This  fear  is  groundless.  When,  in  the  days  of 
his  flesh,  Jesus  was  appealed  to,  whether  for  light 
and  instruction,  or  for  healing  power,  or  whatever, 


114  THE   HIGHER   CHRISTIAN   LIFE. 

none  were  ever  checked  by  him  for  it.  Peter  sink 
ing  in  the  water  cried  out,  "  Lord  save  or  I  perish  !  " 
and  Jesus  rebuked  him  for  his  unbelief,  but  not  for 
calling  upon  him  instead  of  the  Father.  The  Sy- 
rophenician  woman  appealed  to  him  in  behalf  of 
her  daughter,  and  although  the  Lord  tried  her  faith 
exceedingly,  first  by  silence,  then  by  saying  "It  is 
not  meet  to  give  the  children's  bread  to  dogs  ;"  yet 
when  she  persevered,  and  said,  "  Truth  Lord,"  you 
are  right,  I  am  not  worthy,  "  Yet  even  the  dogs  eat 
of  the  crumbs  that  fall  from  the  master's  table," 
Jesus  commended  her,  saying,  "  0  woman  !  great  is 
thy  faith  !  Be  it  unto  thee  even  as  thou  wilt ;"  and 
her  daughter  was  healed  from  that  hour. 

And  when,  after  the  Lord's  resurrection  and  as 
cension  to  glory,  he  met  the  persecuting  Saul  of 
Tarsus  on  the  Damascus  road,  and  rebuked  him, 
saying,  "  Saul !  Saul !  why  persecutest  thou  me  ?  " 
Saul,  fallen  upon  his  face,  and  stricken  blind  by  the 
glory  of  the  Lord,  tremblingly  inquired,  "  Who  art 
thou,  Lord  ?  "  The  answer  was,  "  I  am  Jesus  whom 
thou  persecutest."  Then  Saul,  obedient  to  the 
heavenly  vision,  asked,  "  Lord  what  wilt  thou  have 
me  to  do  ?  "  And  Jesus  answered,  saying,  "  Go 
into  the  city  and  there  it  shall  be  told  thee  what 
thou  must  do."  Then  after  three  days,  Ananias 
came  to  him,  saying,  "  Saul !  Jesus  who  met  thee 
in  the  way  hath  sent  me  to  thee,  that  thou  mayest 
receive  thy  sight ;"  upon  which  as  it  were  scales  fell 


ACCEPTABLE     APPEALS.  115 

from  his  eyes.  Now  in  all  this  there  was  no  going 
round  about,  no  feeling  of  necessity  for  it,  no  re 
buke  from  the  Lord  for  not  doing  it.  When  the 
earnest  soul  appeals  directly  to  Jesus  it  will  not  be 
rebuked  or  sent  away  empty.  And  the  same  may 
be  said  of  appeals  to  the  Father  direct,  or  to  the 
Spirit. 

When,  in  the  language  of  that  precious  hymn, 
Rock  of  Ages,  we  in  the  same  breath  praise  and 
pray : 

"  Rock  of  Ages  cleft  for  me 
Let  me  hide  myself  in  thee," 

We  are  in  the  spirit  of  the  gospel  and  in  the  line  of 
perfect  propriety.  And  so  when  we  at  one  and  the 
same  moment  invoke  the  Spirit  and  make  melody 
unto  God  with  heart  and  voice,  saying  : 

"  Come  Holy  Spirit  Heavenly  Dove, 
With  all  Thy  quickening  powers, 
Kindle  a  flame  of  sacred  love 
In  these  cold  hearts  of  ours." 

We  are  in  no  more  danger  of  offending  the  Father 
than  when,  in  the  words  put  upon  our  lips  by  the 
blessed  Saviour  himself,  we  pray, 

"  Our  Father  who  art  in  heaven." 

Iii  each  and  every  case  of  the  three  the  appeal  is  di 
rect  to  the  person  of  the  trinity  addressed,  and  in 
all  alike  proper,  and  in  all  alike  availing,  if  the  plea 
is  the  fervent,  effectual  outgoing  of  the  heart  in  its 
fulness. 


CHAPTER  II. 


CHRIST  ALL-SUFFICIENT  AND  FAITH  ALL-INCLUSIVE. 

THE  ANALOGIES  OF  FIRST  AND  SECOND  CONVERSION  —  DIFFERENCE 
—  CHRIST  ALL  —  A  SON  OF  THE  PROPHETS  AT  A  SCHOOL  OF  THE 
PROPHETS —  FAITH  TWO-FOLD,  GIVES  ALL  —  A  LADY  OF  DISTINC 
TION,  TAKES  ALL  —  A  MERCHANT. 

THE  analogies  between  conversion  and  second  con 
version,  are  complete  in  all  things —  save  one. 

There  is  a  radical  difference  between  the  pardon 
of  sins,  and  the  purging  of  sins.  Pardon  is  instan 
taneously  entire,  but  cleansing  from  sin  is  a  process 
of  indefinite  length.  Even  here,  however,  the  anal 
ogy,  though  not  complete,  is  not  entirely  wanting, 
for  in  the  second  as  in  the  first,  the  apprehension  of 
Christ  as  the  way,  is  instantaneous,  the  difference 
being  simply  that  in  the  first,  the  work  of  Christ  is 
already  done  the  instant  the  soul  believes,  while  in 
the  second,  the  work-  of  Christ  remains  yet  to  be 
done  in  the  future  after  the  soul  believes.  In  the 
one  the  atonement  has  been  made,  and  the  moment 
it  is  accepted,  the  pardon  is  complete ;  in  the  other, 
although  the  righteousness  of  Christ  is  perfect  in 
which  the  soul  is  to  be  clothed,  yet  the  work  of 

116 


VARIETIES  —  FACES  NOT  ALIKE.  117 

unfolding  the  heart  to  itself  in  its  wants,  and  the 
unfolding  of  Christ  to  the  heart  from  glory  to  glory, 
in  his  sympathizing  love,  and  purifying  presence 
and  power,  as  the  soul  shall  be  prepared  to  go  on 
ward  and  upward  from  faith  to  faith,  is  a  work  of 
time  and  progress. 

With  this  single  exception,  however,  the  analogies 
are  complete.  The  period  and  process  of  convic 
tion  ;  the  unwillingness  at  first  to  admit  the  light 
and  obey  the  truth ;  the  resolve  afterward  to  seek 
and  find  the  salvation  ;  the  vain  attempts  and  fruit 
less  t  struggles ;  the  deceptions  and  temptations  of 
the  adversary  ;  the  final  perception  of  Christ  as  the 
way,  and  the  giving  of  all  up  to  him,  and  taking  him 
for  all ;  the  light,  and  comfort,  and  peace  that  fol 
low,  and  the  wonder  that  there  should  ever  have  been 
a  single  doubt  of  the  reality  that  there  is  such  an 
experience ;  and  the  wonder  still  greater,  that  the 
way  of  faith  in  Christ,  so  plain  and  so  simple  as  it  is, 
should  not  have  been  seen  at  once  first  of  all :  in 
all  these  things  the  analogy  is  perfect,  no  shade  of 
difference. 

The  experience  in  no  case  will  be  exactly  the 
same  in  the  second,  as  in  the  first.  The  experiences 
of  no  two  persons  are  precisely  alike  in  every  fea 
ture,  or  in  any  one  feature.  No  two  have  faces 
alike.  All  have  faces,  however,  if  they  are  human. 
No  two  have  any  one  feature  precisely  the  same,  yet 
all  have  the  same  features.  He  who  should  have 


118  THE    HIGHER   CHRISTIAN   LIFE. 

two  mouths,  or  three  eyes,  or  two  noses,  would  be 
a  monster,  not  a  man.  And  he  who  should  have  no 
mouth,  or  nose,  or  eyes,  at  all,  would  be  a  deformed 
man  at  best.  So  in  religious  experience,  all  have 
she  same  general  features,  though  no  two  are  ex 
actly  alike.  And  this  analogy  of  unity  in  diversity 
holds  good  between  first  and  second  conversion  in 
any  person's  experience,  the  same  as  between  the 
experiences  of  different  persons. 

We  have  here  also,  a  correspondence  with  all  the 
processes  of  nature.  A  seed  germinates  in  the 
ground,  and  shoots  up  its  stem  and  bud  to  the  light, 
where  it  unfolds  itself  to  the  sun,  and  the  dews,  and 
the  air,  and  drinks  in  the  power  of  a  second  germina 
tion  ;  and  then  puts  forth  another  bud  and  stem 
just  like  the  first  in  every  essential  thing,  while  yet 
no  two  buds  are  ever  exactly  the  same,  and  so  grows 
by  repeating  itself.  The  same  analogy  might  be 
traced  through  all  the  mineral  kingdom,  in  all 
crystaline  formations,  and  through  all  geological 
history. 

This  analogy  as  it  chiefly  concerns  us  for  the 
great  practical  purpose  in  view,  gives  us,  if  we  have 
passed  through  the  first  step,  two  things  to  guide  us 
through  the  second,  in  the  strong  light  of  our  own 
past  experience.  First,  CHRIST  AS  ALL-SUFFICIENT, 
and  second,  FAITH  AS  ALL-INCLUSIVE. 

The  first  grand  effort  of  the  convicted,  burdened 
heart,  is  to  find  relief ;  —  not  by  taking  Christ, 


THE  BRIDEGROOM  —  NOT  HIS  MONEY.  119 

at  once  as  all-sufficient ;  —  not,  perhaps,  by  going  to 
Christ  at  all,  until  driven  to  him  by  repeated  fail 
ures,  at  the  work  of  changing  itself.  And  when  at 
last  driven  to  him,  then  the  first  thing  is  —  not  to 
take  Christ  himself,  —  but  to  seek  his  salvation 
rather  than  himself. 

It  is  a  very  simple  lesson  to  learn  ;  —  so  it  seems 
when  once  it  is  learned  ;  —  but  one  of  the  hardest 
we  ever  learn  in  our  lives ;  that  having  Christ 
we  have  salvation  also,  while  without  receiving 
Christ  himself  we  cannot  have  the  salvation.  Having 
the  fountain  we  have  its  issuing  streams.  Cut  off 
from  the  fountain,  the  streams  will  not  flow  to  us. 
Christ  offers  himself  to  be  the  bridegroom  of  the 
soul.  He  offers  to  endow  his  bride  with  all  the  rich 
es  of  his  own  inheritance  in  the  heirship  of  his 
Father.  Taking  him  as  our  bridegroom,  and 
giving  ourselves  to  him  as  the  bride  espouses  her 
husband,  with  him  we  have  all  he  has,  as  well  as  all 
he  is,  while  without  him  we  can  have  neither. 

The  mistake  is  that  of  seeking  the  salvation  instead 
of  seeking  the  Saviour.  Just  the  same  mistake  that 
the  affianced  would  make,  if  she  should  seek  to  have 
the  possessions  of  him  to  whom  she  was  engaged, 
made  over  to  her  from  him,  without  their  union  in 
wedlock,  instead  of  accepting  his  offer  of  himself, 
and  having  the  hymenial  bond  completed,  by  which 
he  and  all  he  has  would  become  hers. 

Our  salvation  is  IN  Christ  and  with  him,  but  not 


120  THE  HIGHER  CHRISTIAN    LIPE. 

APART  from  him.  When  a  bank  note  or  a  gold  coin 
is  put  into  my  hands,  my  money  is  in  that,  not 
apart  from  it.  When  a  deed  is  signed,  sealed, 
recorded,  and  delivered  to  me,  my  title  is  in  my 
deed  and  not  apart  from  it.  My  bank  note  or  gold 
coin  will  pay  my  debt  and  pay  my  journeying  expen 
ses.  My  deed  will  ensure  me  my  farm.  Even  so  in 
Christ  I  have  my  debt  cancelled,  my  journeying 
support,  and  my  heavenly  inheritance  all  secure. 

Perhaps  this  matter  cannot  be  better  illustrated 
than  by  a  sketch  of  the  struggles  and  victory  of 

ONE  OF  THE  SONS  OF  THE  PROPHETS  AT  ONE  OF  THE 
SCHOOLS  OF  THE  PROPHETS. 

J.  was  doubly  one  of  the  sons  of  the  prophets. 
His  father  was  a  distinguished  minister,  and  a  pro 
fessor  in  one  of  our  so-called  universities,  while  he 
himself  was  a  student  in  one  of  our  Theological 
Seminaries  in  this  favored  land.  He  was  about  to 
leave  the  halls  of  sacred  science  and  go  out  to  try 
his  armor  and  his  arms  on  the  great  western  mis 
sionary  battle-field.  His  conversion  was  clear  and 
decided,  years  before  while  in  college.  His  conse 
cration  to  the  ministry  of  Jesus  was  unwavering. 
His  course  as  a  young  Christian  and  student  had 
commended  him  to  universal  respect.  The  distin 
guished  men  who  were  training  the  sons  of  the 
prophets  for  their  great  work,  esteemed  J.,  even 
above  most  of  the  noble  young  men  around 


THE    STRAIT.  121 

them.  To  all  others  his  prospects  were  bright  and 
fair,  but  J.  had  his  own  misgivings.  When  he 
thought  of  the  great  work  of  the  ambassador  for 
Christ,  his  heart  chilled  with  fear  lest  he  should 
come  short.  Then  he  turned  himself  to  see  what 
could  be  done.  Resolutions  —  the  first  grand  re 
sort  always  —  were  formed,  and  alas,  broken  too, 
almost  before  they  were  cold.  A  covenant  was 
written  out,  and  signed,  and  sealed,  and  blotted 
with  tears.  But  alas,  again  it  proved  worth  not  so 
much  as  the  foolscap  on  which  it  was  drawn  up. 
Then  it  was  nailed  up  in  plain  view  of  himself  and 
his  visitors  in  his  own  study,  right  over  the  desk 
where  he  dug  out  his  Hebrew,  and  wrote  out  his 
sermons.  But  the  case  was  no  better  at  last.  Fi 
nally  he  vowed  —  a  rash  vow  —  to  give  his  most 
splendid  books,  the  treasure  of  his  study,  to  the  flames, 
if  he  should  fail  to  keep  covenant  again  with  the 
Lord  and  his  own  soul.  But  he  failed  again.  Now 
what  ?  Now  he  did  not  know  what.  He  was  at  his 
wit's  end.  He  was  a  strong  man  of  iron  will.  Un 
bending  as  the  oak  in  his  uprightness,  and  rooted 
deeply  in  all  Biblical  science  — but  his  heart !  All, 
his  wayward  heart  was  too  much  for  him  !  He  was 
associated  with  a  fellow  student  in  a  Mission  Sab 
bath  School,  and  various  other  works  of  love  for  the 
cause  of  the  Master.  His  fellow  student,  like  Rieu 
with  D'Aubigne,  though  far  behind  J.  in  many 
things,  was  far  ahead  of  him  in  the  knowledge  of 
6 


122  THE   HIGHER   CHRISTIAN  LIFE. 

Jesus.  In  one  of  their  conversations,  his  associate 
mentioned  the  fact  of  a  second  conversion,  in  the 
case  of  one  mutually  esteemed  by  them,  and  seeing 
a  look  of  surprise  in  the  face  of  J.,  said,  "You 
know  there  is  such  an  experience,  do  you  not  ?" 
"  No,"  answered  J.,  "I  do  not.  I  never  heard  of 
such  a  thing."  "  Well  then,  be  assured  there  is." 
Explanation  followed,  and  they  separated.  Next 
time  they  met,  the  matter  was  called  up  again,  and 
as  they  parted  again,  J.  said,  in  tones  of  deepest  emo 
tion,  "  Come  to  my  room  as  soon  as  you  can.  I  shall 
die  if  I  do  not  find  relief  from  my  agony  of  soul." 

Next  day,  seated  in  J.'s  room,  a  scene  occurred 
between  the  two,  never  to  be  forgotten  by  either. 
J.'s  anxiety  seemed  to  have  reached  the  highest  point 
of  endurance.  The  heart-strings  were  evidently 
ready  to  break.  He  wanted,  he  must  have  the  ful 
ness  of  the  blessings  of  the  gospel.  He  could  live 
no  longer  without,  so  he  said,  and  so  he  felt. 

His  friend  pointed  him  to  Jesus,  saying  "  Look 
to  Jesus !  accept  of  Jesus !  He  offers  himself  to 
you  to  be  yours.  Take  him  at  his  word.  Trust  in 
him,  and  he  will  be  all  in  all  to  you." 

"  Ah,  yes,  but  that  does  not  help  me  at  all.  I 
am  not  changed  at  all  by  that.  I  want  to  be  chang 
ed,  made  all  new.  I  am  so  vile !  so  fickle  !  so  fool 
ish  !  0,  for  transforming  power  !  " 

"  No,  but  if  you  take  Jesus  to  yourself  as  yours, 
and  give  yourself  to  him  to  be  his,  that  is  all  you 


"  GLORIOUS  !   GLORIOUS  !"  123 

need.  He  will  take  you  as  you  are,  and  keep  you 
by  his  own  mighty  power  through  faith  unto  salva 
tion." 

"  Ah  !  But,  my  heart !  my  heart !  0,  that  is 
the  same  as  ever !  Tell  me  how  my  heart  can  be 
made  anew  !  " 

"  Trust  in  Jesus.  His  covenant  is,  '  I  will  write 
my  law  in  your  heart.  I  will  put  my  truth  in  your 
mind,  and  ye  shall  be  my  people,  and  I  will  be  your 
God.'  Trust  in  Jesus." 

"  Ah,  yes,  but  that  does  not  change  me  !  " 

"  But  is  not  Jesus  able  to  do  for  you  all  he  prom 
ises  —  all  you  ask  or  think  ?  Think  of  his  works  of 
mercy,  and  wonders  of  love  in  the  days  of  his  flesh. 
He  is  with  you  now,  as  he  was  with  his  disciples 
then,  only  now  in  spirit,  then  in  body  ;  but  yet,  to 
do  all  you  need,  or  can  desire  in  the  way  of  salva 
tion.  If  you  have  him,  you  have  all  he  can  do  for 
you,  and  will  ever  have.  He  will  be  with  you,  and 
be  yours  —  your  own  —  your  Almighty  Saviour, — 
always  everywhere.  0,  think  what  a  treasure  you 
have  in  Jesus !  " 

The  Lord  opened  his  eyes  to  see  that  Jesus  was 
his,  and  that  Jesus  was  all  in  all  to  him,  more  than 
he  had  ever  dared  to  hope  for.  And  hiding  his  face 
in  his  handkerchief,  to  prevent  the  convulsions  of 
his  features  being  seen,  he  sobbed  out,  "  Oh  !  is  that 
it  ?  Is  that  it  ?  Glorious  !  Glorious !" 

Then  after   a  moment,  dropping  on   his  knees, 


124  THE    HIGHER   CHRISTIAN   LIFE. 

"  Let  us  pray,"  he  said.  And  slowly,  yet  as  fast  as 
he  could  control  his  utterance,  he  thanked  God  over, 
and  over,  and  over,  and  over  again  for  the  unspeak 
able  gift  of  such  a  Saviour  to  be  the  sinner's  own, 
and  all  his  own,  and  always  his  own,  and  all  he 
ever  could  want  in  life  and  in  death,  to  atone  for 
his  sins,  and  take  away  his  sins,  to  justify  him,  and 
sanctify  him,  and  glorify  him.  He  could  do  nothing 
but  praise,  only  just  to  exclaim,  "0,  that  all  might 
see  him,  and  know  him,  and  glorify  him  too  !  "  This 
to  him  was  a  new  and  glorious  era.  He  went  forth 
to  the  battle,  but  not  alone  ;  and  he  lives  to  fight, 
but  not  alone.  The  invisible  but  Almighty  Saviour 
is  ever  with  him,  and  he  knows  it.  Jesus  is  now 
all-sufficient,  he  wants  no  more,  for  in  him,  and 
with  him  "  all  things  are  his,  whether  life  or  death, 
or  things  present,  or  things  to  come,"  all  are  his, 
and  he  is  Christ's,  and  Christ  is  God's. 

FAITH    ALL-INCLUSIVE. 

This  is  the  second  matter  of  chief  importance  to 
be  illustrated.  True  and  saving  faith  is  two-fold. 
It  gives  all  and  takes  all.  If  it  fails  to  give  all  up 
to  Christ,  no  matter  how  bold  and  clamorous  it  may 
be  in  claiming  the  promises,  it  is  dead  and  power 
less.  Its  boldness,  like  Peter's  before  the  crucifixion, 
will  be  put  to  shame  when  put  to  the  test,  and  its 
owner  will  have  occasion  of  bitter  weeping  in  this 
world,  and  it  may  be  of  terrible  gnashing  of  teeth 


FAITH   GIVES   ALL   AND   TAKES   ALL.  125 

in  the  world  of  despair.  On  the  other  hand  if  it 
fail  of  taking  Christ  for  all,  all  its  givings  will  be  in 
vain  and  worse  than  in  vain,  ending  only  in  sore 
and  terrible  disappointment  at  last. 

The  word  of  God  presents  to  us  two  grand  as 
pects.  One  of  command  and  the  other  of  promise. 
Faith  trusts  implicitly  in  both.  Faith  obeys  the  one 
and  accepts  the  other.  In  the  Commandments,  God 
reveals  himself  as  a  requiring  God  —  in  the  prom 
ises  as  a  giving  God.  Faith  relies  upon  Him,  in 
both  his  commandments  and  his  promises  —  yielding 
in  implicit  obedience  to  the  one,  and  putting  forth 
the  hand  of  assured  confidence  to  take  the  other. 

Now,  that  faith  is  not  properly  faith  at  all,  which 
accepts  the  one  and  rejects  or  neglects  the  other. 

God  demands  of  us  heart  and  life  wholly  given 
up  and  consecrated  to  him,  and  true  faith  responds 
"  Yes,  Lord,  Thou  shalt  have  all.  All  I  have  and 
all  I  am  are  thine." 

God  gives  us  his  Son  to  be  our  Saviour,  and  true 
faith  takes  him  at  once  and  for  all  in  all,  and  is  sat 
isfied,  saying : 

"  Thou  O  Christ  art  all  I  want, 
More  than  all  in  Thee  I  find." 

He  who  gives  all  and  takes  all  has  all.  He  who 
gives  but  does  not  take,  or  takes  but  does  not  give, 
has  nothing  but  disappointment  and  sorrow. 

Daniel  obeyed  the  Lord  and  trusted  in  him.  When 


126  THE   HIGHER   CHRISTIAN  LIFE. 

the  collision  came  between  the  command  of  the  King 
and  the  command  of  God,  Daniel's  faith  did  not  wa 
ver.  He  obeyed  God  rather  than  man.  And  when  the 
test  of  the  den  and  the  lions  came  his  faith  was  still 
unshaken  ;  he  trusted  in  Him  whom  he  served. 

Now  for  the  sake  of  the  illustration,  suppose  the 
faith  of  this  noble  servant  of  God  had  been  reversed 
—  suppose  when  the  commands  of  the  king  and  of 
God  came  into  collision  —  he  had  done  as,  alas,  too 
many  do,  obeyed  man  rather  than  God,  and  yet  trusted 
to  the  clemency  of  God  that  he  would  not  be  angry 
with  him,  even  though  he  did  disobey,  —  made  the 
goodness  of  God  a  plea  of  presumption  that  all 
would  be  well  at  last,  though  the  word  of  God  was 
set  at  nought.  Would  God,  think  you,  have  left 
such  a  testimony  on  record  as  the  exclamation  of 
the  angel :  "  0  Daniel !  Man  greatly  beloved  of  the 
Lord  ? "  Or  on  the  other  hand,  suppose  when  Dan 
iel  was  cast  into  the  lion's  den,  instead  of  trusting 
in  his  God,  that  he  would  deliver  him,  —  suppose 
then  that  in  his  impotence,  bound  hand  and  foot,  he 
had  made  fight  with  the  lions,  and  sought  deliver 
ance  by  his  own  struggles  with  those  terrible  beasts 
of  prey,  how  long  before  he  would  have  been  torn 
limb  from  limb  and  devoured  by  the  hungry  mon 
sters  of  the  den  ? 

But  no.  When  the  commandment  came  up,  Dan 
iel  made  God  his  trust  and  obeyed,  even  at  the  risk 
of  what  seemed  inevitable  and  terrible  death.  And 


FAITH  TAKING    BUT   NOT  GIVING.  127 

when  the  danger  came  then  again  he  made  God 
his  trust,  and  was  delivered. 

The  two  aspects  and  their  results  of  Faith  separ- 
ted,  may  be  illustrated  by  two  separate  sketches  :  — 
First,  a  sketch  of  the  struggles  and  failures,  and 
final  success  of 

A     LADY    OF     DISTINCTION, 

Will  show  the  futility  of  trusting  to  the  promises 
while  neglecting  the  commandments,  that  is,  the 
necessity  for  consecration  to  God  in  order  to  realize 
the  saving  power  and  presence  of  Jesus. 

The  lady  in  question  is  well  known  both  in  Europe 
and  America,  both  by  the  brilliance  of  her  genius, 
and  the  liberality  of  her  gifts,  but  as  she  is  still  liv 
ing,  her  name  is  withheld. 

For  many  years  after  her  conversion,  which  was 
bright  and  clear  and  happy,  she  served  the  Lord  in 
the  too  frequent  sort  of  a  life  of  ups  and  downs  — 
knowing  of  nothing  better  for  the  Christian  here  be 
low,  at  least  for  the  Christian  of  her  "  temper  and 
temperament,"  as  she  was  wont  to  say.  The  supe 
rior  consistency  and  fervor  seen  in  some  others,  she 
thought  was  due  mainly  to  superior  natural  quali 
ties  and  educational  training,  rather  than  to  any 
deeper  and  fuller  experimental  oneness  with  Christ. 

A  brother  beloved  however,  at  last  convinced  her 
that,  for  all  the  children  of  God,  herself  amongst 
the  number  of  course,  there  is  such  an  experimental 


128  THE    HIGHER    CHRISTIAN  LIFE. 

union  with  Jesus  as  has  for  convenience  been  named 
second  conversion. 

Months  wore  away  after  this,  however,  before  any 
earnest  step  was  taken  to  make  it  her  own.  Not 
withstanding  her  deep  persuasion  of  its  reality, 
for  herself  it  seemed  an  impossible  height  to  scale. 
Often  and  often  it  was  called  up  in  the  heart's  own 
hall  of  legislation,  and  as  often  with  a  sigh  of  des 
pondency  it  was  laid  on  the  table  again. 

At  last,  meeting  with  one  zealous  in  this  matter, 
in  whose  mind  the  one  aspect  of  faith  —  that  of 
taking  the  promises,  seemed  in  the  main  like  Aaron's 
rod,  to  have  swallowed  up  every  thing  else,  especial 
ly  the  other  aspect  —  that  of  consecration,  she  was 
persuaded  to  cast  herself  upon  Christ.  And  right 
heartily  and  wholly  she  did  seem  to  take  him  to  her 
self,  and  her  hopes  were  sanguine  that  he  would  be 
to  her  and  do  for  her  all  he  had  promised,  and  all 
that  others  received. 

A  little  while,  and  her  hopes  all  died.  The  Sa 
viour  seemed  no  nearer,  no  dearer,  no  more  her 
helper  than  before. 

Then  came  another  similar  trial,  with  similar  re 
sults.  And  another,  and  another,  and  so  on.  More 
than  a  year  passed  in  these  fruitless  struggles,  and 
many  a  sad,  sad  disappointment  marked  and  blotted 
the  pages  of  that  year's  history.  The  hand  of  the 
Lord,  always  near  at  the  right  moment,  at  last 
placed  upon  her  pillow  —  for  she  was  ill  at  the  time 


—  Upham's  "  Interior  Life."  She  read  as  she  had 
strength  to  read,  a  few  pages  at  a  time.  Coming  to 
the  chapter  on  "  Consecration,"  she  read  it  to  the 
end,  and  said  to  herself,  "  This  I  have  not  done.  I 
have  tried  to  trust  in  Jesus,  but  I  have  never  yet  in 
all  these  attempts,  made  an  entire  surrender  of  my 
self  to  him,  to  do  his  will,  but  only  to  receive  his 
salvation." 

Turning  back  she  re-read  every  line  and  every 
word  with  renewed  care,  and  closer  scrutiny. 
And  as  she  read,  the  length  and  breadth  of  the  re 
quirements  of  God  upon  her,  came  out  in  appalling 
proportions.  "  Right !  Right !  Yes,  all  right,"  she 
said.  "  I  ought  to  make  this  full  consecra 
tions  of  myself  to  God.  But  0,  how  hopeless  !  My 
whole  pathway  in  the  past,  in  memory,  is  strewn 
with  the  fragments  of  broken  resolutions.  And 
shall  I  resolve  again  ?" 

The  book  recommended  a  written  covenant,  if 
convenient.  After  days  and  days  of  weary  reflec 
tion,  she  concluded  finally  to  make  the  covenant  of 
consecration  as  advised.  The  first  time  she  took  to 
the  easy  chair  as  a  rest  from  her  long,  long,  prostra 
tion  —  even  for  an  hour  —  she  called  for  pen  and 
ink,  and  wrote  out  a  covenant,  full  even  to  the 
minutest  details,  signed  it,  and  knelt  and  repeated  it 
in  word  from  the  heart,  then  rose  exhausted  and 
sought  again  her  pillow. 
6* 


130  THE   HIGHER   CHRISTIAN   LIFE. 

Days  passed  by.  Days  of  heavenly  peace.  Trials 
came,  but  her  " peculiar  temper  and  temperament" 
did  not  overcome  her.  She  was  calm  as  Silver  Lake 
at  sun-rise,  and  as  bright  and  clear.  She  was  slow 
to  believe,  after  so  many  failures,  that  success  had 
crowned  this  last  act.  By  and  by,  however,  the 
conviction  that  Jesus  was  with  her,  and  was  keeping 
her  in  perfect  peace,  and  would  do  it,  was  forced 
upon  her.  And  her  joy  in  Jesus  as  a  present  Sa 
viour  —  All-sufficient  —  was  unbounded. 

From  the  very  first,  she  had  been  willing  and 
more  than  willing  that  the  Saviour  should  work  in 
her  to  will  and  to  do  of  his  own  good  pleasure. 
And  she  was  really  convinced,  fully  persuaded  that  if 
ever  the  law  of  God  should  be  written  upon  her 
heart  in  letters  of  light  and  love,  it  would  be  by  the 
hand  of  God  himself  in  answer  to  faith  in  Jesus.  In 
this  she  was  clear.  She  had  no  confidence  in  the 
flesh  —  none  in  her  own  will  —  none  in  any  round 
of  duties  or  course  of  action.  She  knew  that  God 
alone  could  fill  her  heart  and  soul  with  God.  Why 
then,  and  how,  did  she  fail  ?  Simply  because  she  did 
not  yield  herself  a  living'  sacrifice  unto  God.  She 
gave  herself  up  as  a  dead,  a  passive  sacrifice  merely. 
She  consecrated  herself  to  receive  merely,  and  not 
to  do.  God  requires  of  his  intelligent  voluntary 
creatures  an  intelligent  active  consecration  to  him 
self,  heart  and  soul  yielded  to  do  his  will,  as  well  as 
receive  his  gifts  of  grace  and  mercy. 


THE  ENLISTMENT   FOR  HEAVEN.  131 

And  in  this,  with  ail  her  genius  and  intelligence, 
and  all  her  earnestness  besides,  she  failed  entirely 
until,  through  failure  after  failure,  together  with 
the  timely  suggestions  of  Professor  Upham's  Inte 
rior  Life,  she  was  led  to  review  the  past,  and 
superadd  a  covenant  of  consecration  to  her  covenant 
of  trust  for  grace.  Then,  but  not  before,  she  came 
to  ttie  place  to  receive  what  the  Lord  had  in  store  to 
bestow  upon  her. 

Here  then,  in  the  case  of  this  lady,  we  have  a 
clear  illustration  of  the  necessity  of  that  aspect  and 
phase  of  faith,  which  obeys  the  command  of  God  — 
which  gives  up  heart  and  soul  to  do  the  will  of 
God. 

"  Take  my  yoke"  says  our  Saviour,  "and  learn 
of  me,  for  I  am  meek  and  lowly  and  you  shall  find 
rest  to  your  souls."  But  without  taking  the  yoke, 
where  is  the  learning  and  the  rest  of  the  soul  ?  " 
"  Whosoever  will  do  the  will  of  my  Father  shall  know 
of  the  doctrine,"  he  says  again.  But  is  not  the  con 
verse  of  this  saying  equally  true  that,  Whosoever 
will  not  do  His  will,  shall  not  know  the  salvation  ? 

The  need  of  taking  all,  as  well  as  giving  all  will 
be  seen  as  clearly  in  another  example,  that  of 

A     MERCHANT. 

Early  in  life,  at  the  very  outset  of  a  somewhat  ex 
tended  and  varied  business  career,  B.  enlisted  in  the 
grand  enterprise  of  laying  up  his  treasures  in  heaven. 


132  THE   HIGHER   CHRISTIAN  LIFE. 

At  first,  and  for  a  while,  he  was  quite  content  to 
make  the  Lord  Jesus  his  chief  banker,  and  counsel 
lor,  and  was  very  joyous  in  his  course  as  well  as 
abundantly  useful.  From  early  childhood,  however, 
the  love  of  money,  not  for  its  own  sake  but  for  the 
glory  of  it,  had  been  instilled  into  B's  heart,  and 
the  habit  of  mercantile  ambition  had  grown  with 
his  growth  into  the  strength  of  an  almost  uncon 
querable  desire.  Kept  under  for  a  time  after  his 
conversion,  this  besetting  sin  by  and  by,  like  the 
shoots  from  Carvosso's  stump  in  his  garden,  began 
to  show  itself.  But  unlike  Carvosso,  B.  was  not 
alarmed  by  it,  and  did  not  attempt  even  to  pull  up 
the  noxious  sprout.  Satan  reasoned  him  into  its 
cultivation.  "Get  rich,"  said  the  tempter,  "  and 
0  how  much  good  you  can  do  with  your  money.  Get 
rich  and  you  will  be  a  great  man.  Every  body  will 
respect  you.  Your  influence  will  be  mighty  for 
good."  "  Yes,"  said  B.,  "  I  will.  I  will  never  rest 
until  I  am  the  master  of  a  fortune,  and  at  the  top  of 
the  topmost  business  circle." 

A  little  circumstance  helped  this  decision  might 
ily.  One  of  B's  old  school-mates  who  had  been  a 
sad  laggard  at  school,  and  no  better  in  business,  when 
he  heard  of  B's  conversion,  said,  "  Well,  that  will 
spoil  him.  He  might  have  made  a  business  man  if 
he  had  let  religion  alone,  but  that  will  kill  him. 
He'll  never  be  much  now." 

This  repeated  to  B.,  made  him  feel  in  his  heart, 


WANDERER   RETURNING.  133 

"  He  shall  see !  My  religion  shall  not  spoil  me  ! 
He  will  yet  see,  and  all  the  world  will  see.  I  will 
be  at  the  top  yet." 

His  ambition  was  fired,  and  as  the  fire  of  ambition 
kindled  into  a  flame  in  his  heart,  the  fire  of  love 
sunk  into  ashy  embers.  He  made  money  rapidly, 
and  with  money  came  pride  and  vanity.  The  valley 
of  humility  had  little  attraction  for  him.  The  gush 
ing  fountain  of  the  waters  of  life  flowing  forth  from 
the  foot  of  the  Rock  of  Ages  lost  its  sparkle  and 
freshness  in  his  eyes.  Like  a  balloon  cut  loose  from 
its  moorings  he  soon  mounted  to  a  dizzy  height,  and 
grew  dizzy  as  he  mounted.  Nothing  but  the  strong 
hand  of  a  faithful  Saviour  kept  him  from  tottering 
and  tumbling  into  perdition.  God  gave  him  the  de 
sire  of  his  heart,  but  sent  leanness  into  his  soul. 

At  last,  like  the  prodigal  that  he  was,  he  came  to 
himself,  and  all  the  glories  of  the  world  seemed 
turned  into  husks,  as  they  are  ;  and  even  these  no 
man  gave  to  him.  They  all  eluded  his  grasp,  poor 
as  they  were.  His  grandest  schemes  failed.  His 
gourds  were  cut  down.  His  balloon  was  rent,  and 
its  buoyant  support,  poor,  empty,  evanescent  vanity, 
all  escaped,  letting  him  suddenly  down  into  the  cess 
pool  of  his  own  folly  and  madness. 

He  appealed  to  Jesus,  and  was  lifted  out  of  the 
pool.  Gave  himself  up  anew  and  was  accepted. 
He  was  delivered  from  his  embarrassments,  and 
made  a  new  start  in  business  as  well  as  religion. 


134  THE   HIGHER   CHRISTIAN   LIFE. 

Months  passed  —  the  happiest  of  his  life,  though  the 
soberest  up  to  that  time.  The  Bible  was  a  well- 
spring  of  joy  co  him.  Prayer,  especially  the  prayer 
of  the  closet,  like  the  astronomer's  observatory  with 
its  telescope  pointed  heavenward,  gave  him  happy 
and  hallowed  communion  with  the  bright  world 
above  ;  and  the  house  of  God,  to  him.  was  as  the 
gate  of  heaven. 

Nevertheless,  there  was  still  a  want  rising  more  and 
more  in  his  soul.  The  want  —  the  sense  of  want, 
from  a  sense  of  his  lack  of —  holiness.  He  had  not 
yet  learned  to  find  in  Jesus,  by  faith,  the  supply  of 
this  want. 

Memoirs  became  a  delight  to  him,  and  as  it 
proved,  a  wondrous  blessing.  The  memoir  of  anoth 
er  merchant  of  eminence,  inspired  him  with  the 
hope  of  gaining  a  higher  level,  both  in  the  joys  and 
the  utilities  of  the  Christian  life,  gave  him  to  see  as 
within  reach  even  of  the  care-pressed,  and  toil-worn 
business  man,  amongst  boxes  and  bales,  customers 
and  notes  to  meet,  and  paper  to  be  discounted, 
sharpers  to  unmask  and  risks  to  encounter,  a  life 
both  of  joy  and  peace  in  Jesus,  and  of  Christian  integ 
rity,  unswerving  even  in  the  whirlpool  and  whirlwind 
of  commercial  bustle  and  distraction. 

He  determined  to  make  it  his  own.  The  way  as 
it  appeared  to  him  —  and  the  only  one  in  his  view 
—  was  that  of  uncompromising,  and  universal  con 
secration  to  do  the  will  of  God.  To  give  himself 


FAILURE  —  NEW  EFFORTS.  135 

and  his  business,  and  his  influence,  personal,  social, 
domestic,  and  commercial,  all  up  to  God,  and  hold  all 
as  the  Lord's.  This  he  did  without  reserve.  He 
did  not,  like  Naaman  the  Syrian,  reserve  the  small 
est  thing,  but  gave  all  up.  And  then  expected  as 
the  result  of  this  to  receive  the  light  and  joy,  and 
comfort,  promised  in  the  word  of  God,  and  realized 
by  the  eminent  merchant  whose  example  had  moved 
him  to  take  this  step. 

To  his  deep  disappointment,  as  well  as  great  as 
tonishment,  after  days  and  days  had  passed,  he 
found  his  cherished  hopes  unfulfilled.  His  peace 
was  no  greater,  his  self-control  no  greater,  his  com 
munion  with  God  no  greater  —  the  same  dead  level 
of  feeling  —  the  same  impurity  of  motive  —  the 
same  power  of  wrong  impulse  remained.  And  now 
what  should  he  do  ?  "  Try  again  in  the  same  way" 
he  thought.  It  did  not  once  occur  to  him  to  ask, 
"  Is  this  process  of  consecration  all  ?  Is  there  not 
something  besides  this  ?  " 

Perhaps  —  if  it  had  occurred  to  him,  and  he  had 
asked,  and  asked  at  the  lips  of  the  Holy  One  of  Is 
rael,  it  might  have  been  shown  to  him  —  that 
another  thing  was  needed  as  much  as  consecration 
to  do  the  will  of  God,  viz :  faith  in  Jesus,  for  the 
power  of  Him  who  worketh  in  us,  to  work  in  Him, 
both  to  will  and  to  do  of  his  own  good  pleasure. 
He  did  not  ask,  however. 

So  again  he  gave  himself  up  anew  to  Christ,  to  do 


136  THE    HIGHER   CHRISTIAN   LIFE. 

all  his  will,  after  surveying  the  past  and  the  present 
and  the  future  more  carefully  and  solemnly  than  be 
fore.  But  the  result  was  failure  again,  and  again, 
and  again,  until  wearied  with  repeated  efforts,  and 
discouraged  by  constant  failures,  he  was  driven  to 
the  conviction  that  something  else  must  be  re 
quired  than  consecration  alone.  Happily  the  Lord 
who  is  wonderful  in  counsel  and  excellent  in  work 
ing,  sent  him  a  messenger  with  the  message  —  "  Be 
lieve  in  the  Lord  Jesus  !  It  is  faith  in  Christ  you 
lack."  He  was  convinced. 

Then  soon  came  another  messenger  and  message 
—  unseen  and  unheard,  save  in  the  heart  of  the  be 
wildered  and  struggling  one.  But  it  was  effectual 
there.  It  was  Jesus  saying,  "  Lo,  I  am  with  you 
always,  even  unto  the  end  of  the  world."  "  I  am 
he  who  purifieth  his  people  unto  himself.  This  work 
that  you  have  so  long  struggled  to  have  done  on 
account  of  your  consecration,  is  mine  to  do,  and  / 
will  do  it.  Believe,  only  believe  in  me  and  it  shall 
be  done." 

That  was  the  hour  and  that  the  moment  of  joyful 
deliverance  to  the  struggling  merchant. 

Many  a  struggle  in  the  race  of  business,  had  been 
his,  but  never  a  harder  one  than  this  in  the  Chris 
tian  race.  And  many  a  success  had  crowned  his 
struggles  with  joy,  but  never  one  in  business,  or 
even  in  religion,  so  fruitful  of  happiness  or  useful 
ness  as  this.  It  was  a  wider  and  deeper  opening  of 


THE  CHILD  OUR  EXAMPLE.         137 

the  channel  of  commerce  between  his  soul  and  the 
mart  of  pearls  above  price,  and  it  was  the  era  of  a 
revival,  or  rather  of  an  enlargement  of  a  life-long 
commerce,  to  be  consummated  at  last  by  his  removal 
to  the  fountain  head  of  that  commerce  itself. 

Now  the  one  point  of  especial  interest,  of  this 
illustration  in  the  present  case,  is  the  necessity 
shown  by  it  of  the  faith  that  takes  Christ  as  he  is  of 
fered  to  the  soul,  as  the  Saviour  from  sin,  just  as 
the  case  of  the  distinguished  lady  given  before  shows 
the  necessity  of  the  faith  that  gives  the  soul  to 
Jesus  a  living  sacrifice  to  do  all  he  requires. 

Let  either  element  of  faith  be  lacking,  and  the 
soul  will  be  like  a  boat  with  one  side  oar,  which  goes 
round  and  round  but  makes  no  progress,  only  drifts 
with  the  stream  whirling  as  its  drifts.  Or  like  a 
bird  with  a  broken  wing,  whirling  over  and  over 
and  falling  as  it  whirls. 

"  Verily,  I  say  unto  you,  except  ye  be  converted 
and  become  as  little  children,"  says  our  Saviour, 
"  ye  shall  not  enter  into  the  kingdom  of  Heaven." 

The  child  is  both  obedient  and  docile.  His  father 
commands  and  he  knows  it  is  right  to  obey,  and 
trusts  entirely  in  his  father's  judgment  and  integri 
ty,  doing  at  once  what  his  father  bids,  even  when  he 
knows  nothing  at  all  of  the  reasons  for  the  com 
mand. 

So  again,  his  father  promises,  and  he  counts  upon 
the  fulfillment  of  the  promise  with  the  most  implicit 
confidence. 


138  THE   HIGHER   CHRISTIAN   LIFE. 

His  father  states  some  fact  or  lays  down  some 
principle,  he  believes  it  at  once,  and  acts  as  if  it  was 
true. 

And  this  is  our  Divine  Master's  illustration  of  the 
faith  which  opens  the  gates  of  heaven  to  the  soul  — 
it  must  be  both  obedient  and  trustful. 


CHAPTER  III. 


STOPPED    IN    THE    WAY, 

BY   WHAT. 

IT  has  been  the  Lord's  way  all  along,  to  arrest  the 
earless  journeyer  to  the  eternal  world,  at  some  point 
in  his  career,  by  some  burning  bush  at  the  wayside, 
and  then  when  turned  aside  to  inquire  about  the 
matter,  to  press  upon  him  the  duties  and  privileges 
of  the  service  of  God. 

And  all  along  when  so  arrested  and  urged  to  take 
up  the  cross,  it  has  been  man's  way,  to  conjure  up  a 
host  of  difficulties,  as  formidable  as  Pharaoh  and  his 
army  to  Moses  ;  difficulties  to  be  put  down  only  by 
Him  who  convinced  and  persuaded  Moses  by  the 
leprous  hand  and  the  changing  serpent  rod. 

And  what  is  true  of  the  careless  journeyer  in  re 
ference  to  conversion,  is  equally  true  of  the  Chris 
tian  pilgrim  in  reference  to  the  second  and  deeper 
work  of  grace. 

Indeed  it  often  happens   that  it  takes  more  to 

139 


140  THE   HIGHER   CHRISTIAN  LIFE. 

arrest  and  convince,  in  the  second  than  in  the  first 
instance. 

Abraham  made  his  entrance  upon  the  land  of 
promise  by  two  stages,  first  from  Ur  to  Haran,  and 
then  from  Haran  to  Canaan.  Doubtless  it  cost 
many  a  sacrifice  hard  to  make,  and  the  sundering  of 
many  a  tie  hard  to  break,  at  the  first,  when  with  his 
father  he  left  the  land  of  his  birth  and  the  home  of 
his  youth,  idolatrous  though  it  was,  to  go  forth  into 
a  strange  land  amongst  strangers.  But  when,  after 
the  death  of  his  father,  at  Haran,  the  command  of 
the  Lord  came  to  strike  tent  and  go  forth  again,  he 
knew  not  where,  he  had  no  father  to  lean  upon,  no 
dependence  but  God  alone,  and  although  his  faith 
did  not  fail,  yet  doubtless  the  second  command  tried 
it  more  than  the  first. 

The  second  is  the  higher  stage,  and  more  difficult 
too.  It  is  really  harder  to  overcome  sin  in  the 
heart,  than  to  break  away  from  the  world  at  first. 
And  it  is  harder  to  come  to  the  point  of  trusting  in 
Jesus  to  subdue  one's  own  heart  entirely  to  himself, 
than  to  venture  upon  him  for  the  forgiveness  of  sin. 
"We  are  slower  to  perceive  that  the  work  of  saving 
us  from  sin  —  of  expelling  sin  from  us  —  is  Christ's, 
than  to  see  that  he  has  already  suffered  the  penalty 
of  sin  and  purchased  our  pardon. 

The  children  of  Israel  braved  the  Red  Sea,  and 
passed  it  in  triumph  —  but  the  Canaanites  in  the 
land,  in  their  armor  of  brass,  and  cities  walled  up 


THE   DELIVERANCE  AND   THE   CONQUEST.          141 

to  heaven,  appalled  them,  and  turned  them  back  in 
to  the  wilderness  to  wander  forty  long  years,  before 
they  were  prepared  to  set  foot  upon  the  land  of 
promise. 

Like  them  we  have  the  two  stages,  and  the  two 
works,  and  both  by  faith,  and  both  to  learn. 

They  got  not  their  inheritance  by  crossing  the 
Red  Sea  alone.  The  Jordan  must  also  be  passed  by 
faith,  between  watery  walls  on  either  hand,  before 
they  could  learn  the  lesson  that  by  faith,  they  were 
to  conquer  their  foes  in  the  land,  as  well  as  gain  de 
liverance  from  foes  in  Egypt.  A  hard  lesson  as  it 
proved  in  their  case,  and  many  another.  They 
were  not  stopped  by  the  Red  Sea,  and  they  had  their 
song  of  triumph  upon  the  far  bank  overlooking 
the  waters  whose  walls  had  opened  to  give  them  a 
dry  passage,  but  closed  upon  their  enemies  and  over 
whelmed  them.  But  when,  in  that  same  year,  they 
came  to  the  borders  of  Canaan  and  sent  out  their 
spies  to  view  the  land,  and  when  the  spies  returned 
with  their  Eschol  grapes,  borne  upon  a  pole  between 
two  of  them,  but  reported  giants,  the  sons  of  Anak 
in  the  land,  and  cities  with  walls  great  and  exceed 
ing  high,  they  saw  all  through  the  magnifying  glass 
of  fear  and  were  palsied :  difficulties  rose  up  and 
swelled  out  into  the  giant  proportions  of  abso 
lute  impossibilities,  and  they  turned  from  them  and 
set  their  faces  to  go  back  into  Egypt,  and  were  about 
to  murder  Moses  and  Aaron.  Nothing  kept  them 
from  it  but  the  terrible  judgments  of  God. 


142  THE  HIGHER   CHRISTIAN  LIFE. 

Strange  that  they  could  not  see,  and  know  that 
the  same  hand  that  opened  up  the  way  out  of  the 
bondage  of  Egypt  through  the  Red  Sea  and  through 
the  wilderness,  could  and  would  open  up  the  way 
into  the  land  of  Canaan  and  subdue  all  their  ene 
mies  under  them.  "  The  Sea,"  thought  they,  "  God 
opened  —  none  but  God  could  do  that.  But  to  con 
quer  and  subdue  the  land  is  our  work,  and  we  are 
not  able  to  do  it."  So  they  shrunk  back  from  it. 

Just  so  it  is  with  us.  We  break  from  the  bondage 
of  the  world.  "We  fly  to  the  Saviour  for  pardon  and 
find  it.  We  are  happy  in  it  —  we  have  our  song  of 
triumph  after  the  passage  of  the  sea,  and  we  go  for 
ward.  Bitter  waters  are  made  sweet  for  us  by  the 
branch  of  the  tree  of  life  cast  in.  Manna  is  given 
us  to  feast  upon  by  the  way.  The  Rock  gives  us 
its  living  waters.  The  pillar  of  cloud  and  the  pil 
lar  of  fire  guide  us  all  our  journey  through.  But 
by  and  by  the  Canaanites  in  the  heart  begin  to  be 
seen  and  felt  in  their  power.  And  when  we  begin 
seriously  to  think  of  their  absolute  subjection —  we 
think  of  it  as  a  work  to  be  done  by  us  —  not  the 
Lord,  and  we  shrink  back  from  it  as  hopeless,  and 
content  ourselves  as  well  as  we  can  with  a  life-long 
career  of  wandering  in  the  wilderness,  simply  be 
cause  our  faith  fails  us  to  strike  for  victory, 
trusting  in  God  alone  to  give  it. 

In  this  way  multitudes  are  stopped,  almost  before 
they  have  started :  just  when  they  have  come  to  see 


THE  BRAND  THE  STAR  OF  NOBILITY.  143 

the  land  before  them,  but  have  not  yet  taken  the  first 
decisive  step  for  its  possession. 

Already  in  endeavoring  to  take  up  the  "  stum 
bling  stone  "  of  perfectionism,  one  of  the  difficulties 
has  been  anticipated  and  answered  :  and  in  meeting 
the  special  personal  plea,  "  not  for  me,"  another  has 
been  sufficiently  discussed,  if  not  effectually  re 
moved. 

Others  yet  remain.  God  help  us  to  see  them,  and 
conquer  them  too.  Satan  will  hinder  if  he  can. 

Fear  of  the  brand,  is  one  great  difficulty.  Not 
merely  the  brand  of  "  perfectionism"  — this  aside 
—  we  shrink  from  being  marked  as  peculiar  amongst 
Christians.  We  should  not  certainly  greatly  fear  to 
wear  the  star  of  an  earthly  nobility,  in  some  coun 
tries  at  least,  but  the  star  of  nobility  or  knighthood 
in  the  army  of  Jesus  is  another  thing. 

Havelock  fought  three  battles  against  terrible 
odds  to  gain  his  first  honors  from  the  Queen.  But 
they  were  not  his  severest  struggles  nor  his  greatest 
victories.  Many  more  he  fought  afterwards  before 
he  forced  his  way  at  last  into  Lucknow,  but  these 
were  not  his  hardest  contests  either.  The  two  bat 
tles  with  his  three-fold  foe,  the  world,  his  own  heart, 
and  Satan,  the  first  on  the  General  Kyd,  and  the 
last  at  Fort  William  were  the  most  trying  of  his 
life.  Especially  the  last,  when  he  put  on  the  whole 
armor  of  salvation,  and  determined  to  "  stand  up 
for  Jesus,"  even  though  it  should  cost  him  the  loss 


144  THE   HIGHEB   CHRISTIAN  LIFE. 

of  all  favor  and  friendship  and  promotion  from  the 
crown.  To  be  branded  a  "  saint  "  was  another  and 
a  very  different  honor  to  look  to,  than  to  have  the 
star  of  knighthood  upon  his  breast,  and  the  title, 
"  Sir  Henry,  K.  C.  B.,"  prefixed  and  suffixed  to  his 
name. 

But  so  it  is.  This  battle  must  be  fought,  and  he 
who  conquers  in  it,  comes  to  be  willing  to  wear 
whatever  title  of  reproach  the  world  may  see  fit  to 
confer.  There  is  no  victory  without  it. 

Fear  of  becoming  ultra.  The  danger  of  being  led 
into  fanaticism  and  error  is  another  difficulty  at  the 
outset.  And  there  is  danger  of  this.  Satan  de 
lights  in  nothing  so  much,  if  we  will  go  forward,  as 
to  mislead  us,  or  urge  us  on  over  the  bounds  of 
truth  and  wisdom  out  into  the  fields  of  extrava 
gance  and  folly.  Then,  too,  though  old  to  the 
Bible,  and  to  the  experience  of  those  who  have  gone 
before  us,  every  step  of  real  progress  is  new  to  us. 
We  are  blind  to  all  before  us,  however  clearly  we 
see  the  ground  already  passed  over,  and  our  subtle 
enemy  is  always  ready  to  decoy  us  into  the  specious 
network  of  some  trap  set  for  the  unwary. 

We  cannot,  therefore,  be  too  careful.  The  fear  is 
a  wholesome  one,  for  the  danger  is  real.  We  are 
not  without  melancholy  warnings  in  the  many  cases 
of  those  who  have  been  duped  in  this  way,  and  de 
stroyed  to  all  usefulness  in  this  world.  The  follow 
ing  instance  of 


SATAN'S  QUOTATIONS  OF  SCRIPTURE.         145 

A    SH AKERESS 

is  one  of  many  like  it  in  every  essential  respect,  and 
a  sad  illustration  of  the  danger  in  question. 

She  was  no  ordinary  woman.  Before  she  began  the 
course  which  ended  in  her  being  bur'ed  alive  in  that 
Protestant  American  convent,  a  Shaker  community, 
she  was  very  discreet,  very  conscientious,  very  amia 
ble,  very  everything  apparently  lovely  and  good.  If 
not,  like  Anna,  a  widow  of  fourscore,  she  was  yet  a 
widow,  and  the  widow  of  a  respectable  clergyman, 
with  a  circle  of  children  and  grand-children  and 
friends  around  her,  who  loved  and  revered  her.  Of  all 
women  almost  she  seemed  least  in  danger  of  being 
carried  away  from  solid  Scripture  moorings  out  into 
the  sea  of  fanaticism.  Yet  so  it  was.  She  had  her 
weak  side;  there  was  a  broad  streak  of  the  imaginative 
in  her ;  charming  when  it  was  kept  in  subjection  to 
truth,  but  inclining  her  to  fanciful  applications  of 
the  word  of  God.  She  revered  the  Scriptures,  and 
any  idea,  no  matter  how  absurd,  if  yet  it  suited  her 
own  fancy,  and  was  also  couched  in  the  words  of 
fche  Bible,  she  received  as  God's  truth.  She  seemed 
to  have  forgotten  that  the  devil  can  quote  Scripture 
to  his  purpose.  And  this,  her  weakness,  the  tempt 
er,  who  even  tried  the  Master  in  the  same  way,  was 
not  slow  to  take  advantage  of.  The  specious  and 
fanciful  interpretation  of  the  Scriptures  by  the  Mil- 
lerites  was  the  first  to  mislead  her.  She  went  so 
7 


146  THE   HIGHER   CHEISTIAN  LIFE. 

far  as  to  prepare  ascension  robes,  and  await  the  mo 
ment  of  the  Saviour's  second  coming  upon  the  day 
fixed  by  the  leader,  Miller,  himself.  Then  next  she 
was  induced  to  come  out  and  denounce  as  deluded 
all  who  did  not  receive  the  Millerite  interpretation  of 
the  Bible ;  and  that  as  she  supposed  by  the  direct 
command  of  God.  At  a  certain  time,  while  medi 
tating  upon  these  things,  the  words  "  Come  out  of 
Babylon"  sounded  in  her  ears,  and  sha settled  it  in 
a  moment  that  it  was  the  voice  of  God,  commanding 
her  to  separate  herself  from  her  church,  amongst 
whom  were  her  own  beloved  children  and  the  dear 
est  friends  she  had  in  the  world ;  and  she  came  out 
and  denounced  them  all.  After  that  again  she  was 
struck  by  the  words,  "  Mortify  the  flesh,"  and  from 
this  she,  with  the  little  band  of  deluded  ones  whom 
she  joined  took  up  the  idea  that  all  they  could  do  to 
mortify  themselves  before  each  other  would  be  pleas 
ing  to  God  and  purifying  to  themselves.  And  they 
carried  the  matter  to  the  absurd  and  ridiculous  ex 
treme  of  placing  themselves  in  all  sorts  of  grotesque 
positions,  or  worse,  in  their  meetings  for  worship. 
This  finally  went  so  far  as  to  shock  her  delicacy,  and 
drive  her  to  renounce  these  Millerites  in  turn.  And 
what  now  ?  Adrift  once  more,  did  she  not  see  her 
folly  and  turn  again  to  the  stronghold  ?  No.  But 
went  further  and  fared  worse  than  ever.  Meeting 
on  board  one  of  the  lake  steamers,  while  crossing 
Lake  Erie,  a  Shakeress,  her  fantastic  dress  and  de- 


THE  PROTESTANT  NUN.  147 

mure  looks  attracted  her,  and  they  soon  fell  into 
conversation.  Many  of  the  fancies  of  this  Protes 
tant  nun  found  admiring  reception  from  the  widow. 
But  of  all  others  the  assurance  that  all  the  faithful 
have  each  some  one  of  their  own  dear  departed  rela 
tives  to  go  with  them  as  guardian  angels  delighted 
her  most.  And  when  her  new  friend  said,  "  Does 
not  the  apostle  ask,  *  are  they  not  all  ministering 
spirits  sent  forth  to  minister  to  them  that  shall  be 
heirs  of  salvation  ? ' : '  the  truth  of  all  was  sealed 
and  certain  to  the  widow's  belief,  as  if  it  had  been  a 
voice  from  heaven,  instead  of  the  Shakeress,  speak 
ing.  She  was  fairly  caught  again.  The  net  was  of 
gossamer  texture,  but  yet  strong  enough  to  bind 
her  and  hold  her.  The  Shakeress  drew  her  out 
to  speak  of  her  past  history  and  of  her  departed 
friends,  and  soon  learned  that  of  all  the  loved  ones 
she  had  been  called  to  mourn,  not  one,  not  even  her 
husband,  was  so  dear  to  her  memory  as  a  favorite 
sister  who  had  been  dead  many  years.  Adroitly 
and  demurely  enough,  after  a  while  the  Shakeress 
told  the  widow  that  her  own  guardian  spirit,  who 
was  constantly  with  her  had  whispered  that  the  fa 
vorite  sister  would  henceforth  attend  the  widow 
wherever  she  went,  if  she  would  listen  to  her  voice 
in  her  heart  and  follow  her  counsels  ;  and  then  left 
her  to  commune  with  her  invisible  attendant.  Not, 
however,  until  she  had  taken  good  care  to  find  out 
how  much  the  widow  was  worth,  and  present  before 


148  THE   HIGHER   CHRISTIAN  LIFE. 

her  in  the  most  attractive  form  the  question  of  tak 
ing  all  and  going  to  the  Shakers. 

Left  to  herself,  she  set  herself  to  listen  to  the 
angel  voice  of  her  invisible  sister.  Shall  I  sell  all ; 
break  up,  leave  my  children  and  grand-children  and 
go  ?  was  the  question  silently  asked.  The  answer 
as  silently  given  was,  If  a  man  forsake  not  all  that 
he  hath  he  cannot  be  my  disciple.  If  any  one  hate 
not  father  and  mother  and  sister  and  brother  he  can 
not  be  my  disciple.  Her  fertile  fancy  at  once  took 
this  as  infallible  counsel  to  sell  all,  take  all  and  leave 
all  arid  take  the  Shaker  veil.  Which  she  did. 

Now  it  is  in  ways  like  this,  that  satan  draws  from 
the  church  the  volunteer  recruits,  to  keep  that  right 
wing  of  his  army,  the  Fanatics  filled  up.  With  in 
stances  like  this,  and  worse,  around  us,  we  do  well 
to  take  heed.  Let  us  beware  first  of  all  of  taking 
impulse,  or  suggestions,  or  the  inner  light  for  our 
guide.  Let  us  bring  our  own  impulses  and  sugges 
tions  to  the  test  of  God's  holy  word.  The  inner 
light  if  it  be  not  according  to  the  revealed  truth  of 
God  is  only  darkness.  And  if  the  light  withinus  be 
darkness  how  great  is  that  darkness.  The  mariner 
will  hardly  be  so  foolish  as  to  supersede  the  chart, 
by  following  his  own  fancies  upon  the  sea.  If  he 
should,  however,  some  rock  or  shoal  or  reef  or  whirl 
pool  would  bring  him  up  while  he  was  sailing  in 
fancied  security  and  scatter  his  hopes  and  his  cargo 
and  the  fragments  of  his  ship  with  his  crew  and  him- 


THE  HUSK  AND  THE  KERNEL.        149 

self  upon  the  raging  waves  of  the  deep.  Satan  has 
that  man  fairly  in  his  snares,  whom  he  can  get  to 
put  his  own  suggestions  or  impulses,  under  any 
name  whatever,  whether  of  the  inner  light,  or  a 
guardian  spirit  or  the  Spirit  of  God  in  place  of  the 
Bible  as  the  chart  of  faith  and  of  life. 

Let  us  make  sure  also  that  we  have  the  Bible 
truth  and  not  merely  Bible  words.  It  is  a  favorite 
and  frequent  thing  with  the  arch  deceiver  to  couch 
his  own  lies  in  words  of  the  Scripture.  He  takes 
out  and  leaves  behind  the  kernels  of  truth  and 
catches  the  unwary  with  the  empty  chaff  of  mere 
Scripture  phraseology.  Beware  of  him. 

But  then,  if  common  sense  and  common  prudence 
do  demand  of  us  care  lest  we  be  deceived  and  en 
snared,  are  we  therefore  to  be  stopped  at  the 
threshold  of  all  that  is  good  and  great  ?  No. 

Rather  let  us  be  sure  we  are  right,  and  then  with 
our  face  as  a  flint,  yet  with  the  docility  of  the  child, 
and  with  the  firm  tread  of  a  mind  made  up  and  a 
faith  leaning  upon  God,  let  us  push  resolutely  for 
ward  to  the  conquest.  There  is  just  one  thing  that 
satan  likes  better  than  to  lure  us  into  fanaticism, 
and  that  is  to  frighten  us  back  from  any  great  step 
of  real  advancement  into  the  wilderness  of  doubt, 
and  the  tortuous  paths  of  unbelief  and  sin. 

Many  are  stopped  at  the  outset ,  by  reluctance  to  give 
the  world  entirely  up,  and  be  wholly  conformed  to  the 
will  of  Christ. 


150  THE   HIGHER   CHRISTIAN  LIFE. 

A  moderate,  reasonable,  half  and  half  life  in  the 
service  of  the  Master  they  are  willing  to  live.  But 
to  be  wholly  consecrated  to  God  is  more  than  they 
can  consent  to. 

Perhaps  they  find  the  yoke  of  Christ  heavy  and 
galling  to  their  necks,  even  when  borne  only  in  this 
their  half  and  half  sort  of  a  way.  And  they  reason 
by  the  arithmetic  of  unbelief  which  tells  them  that, 
if  half  and  half  service  is  all  they  can  carry,  then 
full  service  would  be  twice  as  heavy  and  would 
break  them  down  altogether. 

They  fail  to  see  that  the  Master  gives  grace  and 
strength  to  those  who  are  wholly  given  up  to  him, 
to  "  mount  up  as  on  eagles'  wings,  and  to  run  with 
out  weariness,  and  walk  without  fainting." 

They  overlook  the  lessons  of  the  past,  that  the 
Lord  is  the  strength  of  those  who  lean  wholly  upon 
him,  enabling  them  to  pass  through  floods  dry  shod, 
and  through  fire  seven  times  heated  unscathed,  to 
turn  trials  into  joys,  and  even  martyr  flames  into  tri 
umphs.  While  those  who  stop  half  way,  in  his  ser 
vice,  are  left  with  enemies  around  them  unsubdued, 
unexpelled,  ready  to  rise  up  and  scourge  themf 
whenever  the  Lord  chooses  to  let  it  be  done  —  to 
humble  them  in  the  dust. 

Suppose  a  husbandman,  finding  his  fields  over-run 
with  the  noxious  "  Canada  thistle,"  should,  instead 
of  waging  a  war  of  extermination,  and  destroying 
it  roott  and  branch,  only  make  half  and  half  work 


THE   HALF-HEARTED.  151 

of  it,  should  cut  down  part,  and  leave  part  to  ripen 
seed  and  give  to  the  winds  for  another  crop,  and  so 
on  and  on  from  year  to  year. 

And  suppose  he  should  justify  himself  to  him 
self  in  this  matter,  by  reasoning,  that  if  it 
cost  so  much  time  and  toil  to  keep  the  noxious 
things  under  from  year  to  year,  when  all  he  attempt 
ed  was  only  to  keep  them  decently  under,  it  would 
be  more  than  he  could  do,  if  he  should  make  the  at 
tempt,  to  keep  them  exterminated. 

Such  a  farmer  would  make  himself  the  laughing 
stock  of  the  whole  country  side.  They  would  give 
him  the  title  of  "  Canada  Thistle"  Smith  or  John 
son,  or  whatever  his  name  might  be.  And  many  a 
homely  hearty  joke  would  be  made  at  his  expense. 

But  his  reasoning  would  be  —  no  better  it  is  true 
—  but  just  as  good  as  that  of  the  half  and  half  dis 
ciple,  who  shrinks  from  whole  souled  consecration, 
because  he  thinks  it  would  be  so  much  harder  than 
the  half  and  half  life  he  now  lives. 

But  there  are  those  who,  though  once  willing,  are 
now  unwilling  to  be  wholly  given  up  to  the  service 
of  Christ,  hard  or  easy.  They  have  not  yet  got 
enough  of  the  world,  though  once  they  thought 
they  had.  The  world  has  its  charms  for  them 
which  they  are  not  willing  to  forego.  Its  bloom  is 
not  all  shed.  True  they  have  enlisted  under  the 
banner  of  Christ,  and  in  the  hour  of  need  they 
stand  ready  for  the  battle.  They  work  manfully  in 


152  THE   HIGHER   CHRISTIAN  LIFE. 

revivals,  and  keep  up  the  daily  drill  of  closet 
and  family  worship,  and  the  weekly  duties  of  the 
sanctuary,  and  Sabbath  school,  and  prayer  meet 
ing.  And  yet,  after  all,  they  are  a  sort  of  militia, 
not  regulars ;  a  citizen  soldiery,  ready  to  volunteer 
or  be  called  out  on  occasion.  Having  arms  and 
uniform  hung  up  ready  for  use,  but  only  put  on  and 
used  when  the  occasion  requires.  And  between 
whiles,  attending  to  their  citizen  avocations  as  men 
of  the  world.  And  not  willing  at  all  to  leave  all, 
forsake  kindred,  and  home,  and  business  and  all ;  or 
rather  to  consecrate  all  to  the  Lord,  and  make  all 
subservient  to  the  interests  of  his  cause. 

Upon  such,  argument  will  be  lost.  Let  them 
take  their  course.  They  will  learn  by  and  by  that 
Christ  is  made  of  God  unto  us  wisdom,  as  well  as 
righteousness.  And  that  the  world  is  folly  and 
madness  to  all  its  votaries.  Bitter  in  the  mouth  will 
it  be  to  them,  if  at  last  God  shall  be  obliged  to  cut 
down  their  gourds,  and  dash  the  cup  of  worldly 
pleasure  from  their  hand. 

These  aside  —  there  is  another  class,  nearly  allied 
to  those  named  already  before  these  last,  to  be  men 
tioned. 

Those  who  would  gladly  give  themselves  wholly 
up  to  Christ,  but  are  stopped  at  the  threshold  by 
false  or  distorted  ideas  of  what  a  life  of  entire  con 
secration  to  God  is. 

They  have  the  view  of  it  which  has  led  hundreds 


FALSELY  COUNTING   COST.  153 

of  thousands  to  go  into  convents  and  monasteries. 
The  idea  that  to  serve  God  entirely,  business  must 
be  abandoned  for  some  sort  of  religious  occupation. 
But  a  glance  will  unmask  this  deception.  A  glance 
will  serve  to  show  that  there  are  thousands  who  are 
engaged  in  religious  occupations  who  are  not  wholly 
consecrated  to  God.  Some,  alas,  who  are  not  Chris 
tians  at  all.  While  amongst  the  holiest  people  of 
the  world  there  are  some  soldiers,  some  sailors,  some 
merchants,  some  lawyers,  some  physicians,  some 
mechanics,  some  wives,  mothers,  house-keepers. 

The  trutli  is,  a  man  may  preach  for  himself  to  get 
a  living  or  gain  a  reputation,  just  as  easily  as  a 
lawyer  can  plead  for  his  fees  or  his  fame.  And  a 
merchant  can  make  money  for  his  Master,  or  a 
house-keeper  meet  her  daily  duties  for  the  Lord  just 
as  well  as  a  minister  can  study  and  teach  for  him. 

Or  they  have  taken  up  the  notion  that  to  be 
wholly  consecrated,  they  must  dress  peculiarly  — 
never  smile  —  never  make  others  smile  —  must  wear 
a  sanctified  look,  and  speak  in  a  sanctified  tone,  and 
all  that.  Satan  helps  on  these  distorted  views  of 
consecration. 

And  there  is  one  of  the  wise  and  good  counsels 
of  our  Saviour  that  the  adversary  loves  to  pervert 
for  this  purpose,  — "  Count  the  cost."  "  Yes," 
says  Satan,  "  Count  the  cost.  Look  the  whole 
ground  over.  Take  everything  into  view.  Sum  it 
all  up.  Lest  haply  having  begun  to  build  you  shall 


154  THE  HIGHER  CHRISTIAN  LIFE. 

not  be  able  to  finish,  and  lest  having  engaged  in  the 
battle  you  shall  be  put  to  the  route." 

The  arithmetic  he  would  have  us  use  in  counting 
the  cost,  is  not  that  of  figures  which  cannot  lie,  but 
of  fictions  which  cannot  speak  the  truth.  He  would 
have  us  add  together  sacrifices,  never  demanded  ; 
duties,  never  required ;  and  difficulties,  never  exist 
ing,  into  a  fabulous  sum,  entirely  too  great  for  our 
resources  to  compass. 

It  would  be  useless  for  satan  to  ply  us  Protestants 
with  the  peculiarities  urged  upon  Romanists.  We 
could  not  be  driven  into  petticoats,  dignified  as  robes  ; 
nor  to  imprison  ourselves  in  dungeons,  called  con 
vents  ;  nor  to  count  beads,  and  call  it  prayers  ;  nor 
to  lash  our  own  bare  backs,  thinking  to  scourge  away 
sin.  He  plies  us  with  notions  more  protestant,  but 
not  one  whit  less  fictitious  and  deceptive.  "  Would 
you  be  a  whole  souled  disciple  of  Christ,"  he  says, 
"  Your  person  :  —  You  will  have  to  conform  all 
your  personal  habits  to  a  rigid  rule  first  of  all.  You 
must  put  on  the  straight  jacket  of  propriety  tight- 
laced.  It  would  ill  become  one  wholly  consecrated 
to  God  to  wear  ornaments  or  elegancies.  Gold  and 
jewelry  and  costly  array  must  be  wholly  eschewed. 
Luxuries  of  the  table  must  never  be  touched ;  super 
fluities,  like  tea  and  coffee,  and  everything  else  but 
the  coarsest  fare  must  be  let  alone,  or  rather  de 
nounced  as  a  wicked  waste  of  money. 

Your  reading  must  be  solidly  and  only  religious. 


SATAN'S  ULTRA  COUNSEL.  155 

Your  associates  must  be  Christians  only,  and  those 
the  best.  Your  conversation  should  never  be  gay. 
Your  face  should  be  solemn  and  your  words  meas 
ured.  You  should  never  smile  yourself  or  cause 
others  to  do  it.  Every  garment,  every  movement, 
every  word,  every  tone  of  your  voice,  should  tell  all 
around  you  that  you  are  holy  in  no  common  degree. 

Then  as  to  your  home :  carpets  and  curtains,  par 
lor  ornaments  and  table  elegancies  would  ill  become 
one  who  professes  to  be  wholly  given  up  to  the 
Lord. 

Bare  floors,  hard  chairs,  plain  tables  and  mirrors, 
no  pictures  or  expensive  works  of  art,  no  elegant 
books,  no  costly  comforts,  but  everything  the  plain 
est  and  cheapest  would  better  suit  your  professions. 
It  would  never  do  for  you  to  own  fine  carriages  and 
splendid  horses,  or  spend  money  and  time  in  orna 
menting  your  grounds. 

And  as  to  your  church  :  You  would  have  to  see 
to  it  that  minister  and  people  should  come  up  to 
your  standard.  Rebuke  them,  privately  first,  if 
they  did  not.  Rebuke  them  publicly  afterward,  if 
they  should  not  heed  you  at  first.  And,  if  still  ob 
durate,  denounce  them  and  leave  them.  Exclude 
them  from  your  fellowship.  Testify  against  them 
in  action  as  well  as  in  words,  and,  if  need  be,  set  up 
on  your  own  account,  all  alone,  a  church  by  your- 
self,  and  let  the  world  have  the  benefit  at  least  of 
the  example  of  one  who  would  have  no  fellowship 
with  the  works  of  darkness." 


156  THE   HIGHER   CHRISTIAN   LIFE. 

So  lie  goes  on  from  church  relations  to  charities 
representing  the  demands  of  the  gospel  as  oppres 
sive  and  impoverishing  in  the  extreme  ;  and  from 
charities  to  business,  making  it  out  an  impossibility 
to  pursue  any  ordinary  avocation  upon  strictly 
Christian  principles  :  and  from  business  to  politics, 
and  from  politics  to  social  life,  adding  absurdity  to 
impossibility,  endlessly  almost.  It  would  be  tedious 
to  follow  the  arch  arithmetician  of  lies  in  his  sum  of 
addition.  It  is  enough  to  say  that  he  never  stops 
until  he  has  thoroughly  frightened  the  half-hearted 
disciple  back  from  any  attempt  at  compliance  ;  or 
if  determined  to  go  ahead  blindfold,  has  led  him  on 
into  a  sea  of  troubles,  where  he  must  perish,  if  the 
Master  does  not  stretch  forth  his  hand  and  save  him. 

It  will  be  observed  that  this  application  of  our 
Saviour's  counsel  to  count  the  cost  is  a  complete 
perversion.  There  is  nowhere  in  the  Bible  one 
single  line  or  precept  of  rigid  requirement  binding 
the  Christian  to  any  rigid  rules  about  living  and 
dress,  or  anything  of  the  sort.  Much  less  a  single 
word,  making  such  things  a  condition  of  salvation, 
whether  of  justification  or  sanctification.  Christ  is 
the  free  gift  of  God  to  sinners,  and  all  who  believe  in 
him  really  and  truly  will  be  saved,  whether  arrayed 
like  Solomon  in  his  glory  in  purple  and  gold,  or  like 
John  the  Baptist  in  a  coarse  garment,  with  a  leath 
ern  girdle  ;  and  whether,  like  Solomon,  living  in 
palaces  of  marble  upon  the  delicacies  of  every  clime, 


THE  HOPELESS  PRISONER.  157 

amid  the  spicery  of  the  south  and  the  jewels  of  the 
east,  and  the  splendors  of  pencil  and  chisel,  or  liv 
ing  in  a  cave  in  the  wilderness  upon  locusts  and 
wild  honey,  as  did  the  greatest  of  all  the  prophets. 

The  kingdom  of  God  is  not  in  meat  and  drinks, 
nor  in  broadcloth  and  satins,  or  plate  and  perfumery 
and  jewels,  nor  in  the  absence  of  these  things. 

The  truth  is,  that  we  are  never  really,  entirely 
the  Lord's  freemen,  until  we  are  free  from  the 
trammels  of  all  these  trivial  questions,  and  at  full  lib 
erty  to  follow  the  Lord  in  whatever  dress, or  position 
or  business  or  company  or  circumstances  the  provi 
dence  of  God  and  our  own  judgment  of  proprieties, 
and  our  own  ability  and  taste  may  dictate  or  require. 

One  class  more,  and  the  last  demanding  notice,  of 
those  who  are  stopped  at  the  outset,  may  be  men 
tioned.  There  are  some  —  many  it  may  be  —  who 
would  gladly  follow  the  Lord  wholly,  like  Joshua, 
and  who  have  just  views  of  what  it  is  to  be  given  up 
entirely  to  him,  but  who  see  not  how  they  can  be 
sustained  in  entire  consecration,  if  they  make  it. 
They  do  not  see  the  hand  of  God  out-stretched  to 
lift  them  up,  and  sustain  them  ;  and  they  dare  not 
trust  to  his  promise,  and  therefore  they  are  afraid 
to  start. 

In  some  re  pects  they  are  like  Peter  in  the  prison 
at  Jerusalem.  They  are  in  bondage  to  sin,  at  least, 
as  he  was  to  the  Romans  ;  and  they  know  it.  Their 
chains  they  have  felt  binding  them  to  the  world,  as 


158  THE   HIGHER  CHRISTIAN   LIFE. 

he  felt  his  binding  him  to  the  soldiers  by  either  arm. 
Their  prison-house  of  darkness,  with  its  iron  gate 
and  mail-clad  watcher,  has  enclosed  them.  And  a 
hundred  difficulties  in  armor  of  brass  and  arms  of 
steel,  like  the  four  quaternions  of  soldiers  shut  them 
in. 

In  this  situation  the  gospel  comes  to  them  as  the 
angel  of  the  Lord  came  to  Peter,  while  he  slept 
between  his  keepers  —  and  arouses  them,  saying, 
Arise,  gird  thyself  and  follow  me. 

But  now  comes  a  contrast. 

The  apostle  arose,  put  on  his  sandals,  begirt  him 
self  and  followed,  almost  as  in  a  dream.  But  they 
sit  half  up,  in  chains  still,  and  say,  "  0  these  chains 
—  how  are  they  to  be  broken  off?  And  the  soldiers 
on  either  side  —  who  shall  free  me  from  their  wea 
pons  —  and  the  iron  gate,  with  its  iron  doors,  bolts 
and  bars,  and  mail-clad  watchers  outside,  and  the 
hundred  soldiers,  and  the  great  iron  gate  leading  to 
the  city,  and  the  darkness  of  the  way  ?  "  Alas  for 
them.  The  difficulties  in  the  way  appall  and  palsy 
them.  If  they  would  but  arise  at  the  call  of  the 
gospel,  give  themselves  up  implicitly  and  entirely  to 
follow  the  Lord  Jesus,  he  would  go  with  them,  and 
the  way  would  open  up  in  the  light  of  his  presence, 
and  every  enemy  would  sleep  on,  every  barrier 
would  swing  wide  open,  all  would  go  easy  and  de 
lightfully.  The  whole  way  would  be  a  way  of  hap 
piness,  and  all  the  path  a  path  of  peace* 


CHAPTER   IY. 


THE    WAY    MISSED. 
BY     WHOM?     AND     HOW? 

THE  WAY  HAS  BEEN  CAST  UP,  A  HIGHWAY.  HlLLS  DIGGED  DOWN, 
VALLEYS  FILLED  UP,  TO  THE  LEVEL  OP  AN  EASY  GRADE.  STONES 
GATHERED  OUT, — THE  WHOLE  MADE  PLAIN,  CLEAR,  OPEN.  A  CHILD 
MIGHT  SEE  IT.  AND  THE  WAYFARER,  THOUGH  A  FOOL,  NE3D  NOT 
MISS  IT. 

THE  Lord  Jesus  Christ  is  the  way.  Christ  all  in 
all.  Christ  our  justification,  Christ  our  sanctifica- 
tion,  Christ  our  glorification, — He  is  the  way. 

And  trust  in  Christ  —  the  trust  which  accepts  and 
obeys  the  commands,  and  which  believes  and  re: 
ceives  the  promises,  is  the  means. 

He  who  takes  Christ  for  all,  has  all,  and  having 
all,  has  the  peace  of  God  passing  all  understanding, 
for  he  has  the  very  God  of  peace  with  him  and  with 
in  him,  to  free  him  from  fear,  deliver  him  from 
danger,  and  support  him  in  trial.  With  the  Apostle 
Paul,  he  knows  by  happy  experience,  that  "  there  is 
now  no  condemnation  to  them  that  are  in  Christ 

159 


160  THE    HIGHER   CHRISTIAN   LIFE. 

Jesus.  Who  walk  not  after  the  flesh  but  after  the 
Spirit.  For  the  law  (power  and  rule)  of  the  spirit 
of  life,  has  made  them  free  from  the  law  (power 
and  rule)  of  sin  and  death." 

Examples,  such  as  those  of  the  patriarchs,  and 
prophets,  who  trusted  in  Jehovah,  (Jesus,)  and  the 
apostles  and  martyrs,  and  Luther,  D'Aubigne,  Bax 
ter,  Taylor,  the  Wesley s  and  Havelock,  who  trusted 
in  Jesus,  (Jehovah,)  mark  the  way  as  an  illustrious 
line  of  journeyers  in  it,  and  as  a  glorious  cloud  of 
witnesses  for  it. 

Still,  however,  it  is  so,  that  honest,  earnest  pil 
grims,  seeking  for  it,  often  miss  it,  and  for  a  time 
struggle  in  vain  to  find  it.  True  they  do  find  it  at 
last,  and  pursue  it  with  all  the  greater  joy  for  hav 
ing  groped  for  it  in  darkness  for  awhile,  like  the 
blind. 

But  why  is  it  that  they  miss  it,  and  how? 
The  answer  is  easy  for  the  initiated  to  give,  but  not 
so  easy  for  the  uninitiated  to  receive.  It  is  not  diffi 
cult  for  one  who  himself  has  missed  the  way  and  af 
terwards  found  it,  to  spread  upon  paper  a  chart, 
both  of  the  by-ways,  and  also  of  the  highway. 
But  it  is  quite  another  affair  to  give  eyes  to  the 
blind  wanderer  in  any  one  of  the  by-ways  to  see  the 
highway  and  enter  into  it.  This  indeed  it  is  the 
Lord's  to  do,  not  the  writer's.  And  he  is  able  to  do 
it.  Let  us  trust  him. 

Before  attempting  to  map  out  any  of  these  by- 


WANT  OP  DOCILITY.  161 

ways,  it  may  be  well  to  point  out  the  cause  why  so 
many  take  them,  and  so  pertinaciously  keep  them, 
when  the  highway  is  so  plain.  It  is  this  —  a  lack 
of  docilty. 

Let  any  one  who  is  convinced,  go  directly  to  the 
Lord  without  conferring  with  flesh  and  blood,  or  ink 
and  paper ;  stretch  forth  the  hand  of  blind  help 
lessness,  to  be  grasped  by  the  hand  of  all-seeing 
power,  and  say,  0  Lord,  lead  me  —  and  he  will  soon 
be  led  into  the  way. 

Let  him  lay  aside  all  his  own  preconceived  no 
tions,  and  in  the  spirit  of  the  stricken  Saul,  prostrate 
on  the  Damascus  road,  let  him  cry,  "  Lord,  what, 
wilt  tlwu  have  me  to  do  ?  "  and  like  Saul,  await  the 
answer.  And  then  let  him  obey  it,  and  then 
ask  again  —  Lord,  what  more  must  I  do  ?  and  again 
wait  the  answer.  And  when  it  comes,  obey  that. 
And  then  again  ask  —  Lord,  what  more  yet  ?  and 
do  that,  and  so  on.  And  there  is  no  risk  or  pre 
sumption  in  saying,  that  in  less  time  than  the  three 
days  of  groping  and  fasting  allotted  to  Saul,  the  last 
answer  will  come  and  the  last  thing  be  done,  the 
struggle  will  end,  the  scales  will  fall  from  his  eyes, 
and  the  light  break  in  upon  his  soul. 

One  of  three  things,  these  wandering,  struggling 
ones  do,  instead  of  taking  the  course  here  indicated. 
They  either  settle  firmly  upon  some  preconceived 
process  of  their  own,  and  pursue  it  until  scourged 
out  of  it  by  disappointment  after  disappointment ; 


162  THE   HIGHER   CHRISTIAN   LIFE. 

or  they  go  to  books  or  men  for  directions  instead  of 
going  directly,  first  of  all,  to  the  Lord,  and  casting 
all  upon  him  ;  or  else  if  they  do  go  first  to  the  Lord, 
and  look  to  him  to  map  out  the  way  for  them,  and 
put  them  in  it,  they  fail  because  they  stop  after  the 
first  answer,  taking  the  first  requisition  for  a//,  when 
it  is  only  the  beginning,  whereas  they  should  keep 
on  asking,  until  they  see  and  know  for  themselves 
that  they  are  now  in  the  way,  and  have  no  more 
need  to  ask  for  the  way,  but  only  to  go  forward, 
leaning  upon  the  arm  that  has  led  them  into  it. 

Another  sketch  from  life  will  best  illustrate  this. 
A  sketch  from  the  experience  of 

A     YOUNG     CHRISTIAN. 

She  was  only  a  lamb  of  the  flock.  Young  and 
newly  converted.  A  few  months  after  her  conver 
sion,  the  Good  Shepherd  drew  her  out  and  away 
from  the  world,  to  lead  her  more  fully  into  the  riches 
and  knowledge  and  love  of  God.  As  he  led  Moses 
with  the  flock  of  Jethro  his  father-in-law  into  the 
back  side  of  the  desert  to  the  mount  of  God,  and 
there  manifested  himself  to  him  under  his  new  namev 
the  I  AM;  so  he  led  this  young  disciple,  by  the  love 
she  bore  to  one  whom  she  had  recently  married,  out 
upon  the  borders  of  civilization,  and  there  in  her 
new  wilderness  home,  he  came  to  her  in  all  the 
brightness  of  the  burning  bush,  and  in  all  the  ful 
ness  of  his  love. 


HER   NEW  HOME   AND    NEW 


The  evidence  that  convinced  IIQT  was  too 
be  rejected,  and  the  experience  too  precious  to  be 
neglected.  And  in  the  same  hour  that  she  was  con 
vinced  of  its  reality,  her  resolution  was  taken,  by  the 
grace  of  God,  to  find  the  way  and  walk  in  it.  And 
in  that  same  hour  she  began  asking  the  way,  and 
found  it. 

It  was  a  struggle.  The  world  had  wonderful  at 
tractions  for  her.  She  herself  was  as  bright  as  a 
May  morning,  and  as  fresh  and  fair,  and  the  world 
was  as  bright  to  her  as  she  was  to  the  world.  Like 
the  broad  prairies  around  her  new  home,  the  world 
to  her  was  a  garden  of  flowers,  and  to  all  around 
her  she  was  one  of  the  most  attractive  of  all  in  the 
whole  blooming  wilderness.  It  was  therefore  no 
slight  sacrifice  when  the  world  was  laid  anew,  and 
more  fully  than  ever,  on  the  altar  again.  To  leave 
her  friends  and  her  home  in  the  heart  of  the  great 
world,  and  go  out  into  a  country  wild  and  strange, 
was  a  trial  which  brought  many  a  sigh  from  her 
heart,  and  many  a  tear  to  her  cheek  ;  but  to  give  up 
the  world  and  turn  her  back  upon  its  vanities  and 
pleasures,  and  devote  herself  entirely  and  forever  to 
God,  was  a  far  greater  sacrifice,  even  if  it  did  not 
cost  as  many  sighs  and  tears. 

The  brand,  she  knew  would  be  applied,  for  the 
world  never  spares  those  who  turn  their  back  fairly 
upon  it. 


164  THE   HIGHER   CHRISTIAN  LIFE. 

The  loss  of  pleasures,  by  no  means  drained  to  the 
dregs,  she  could  not  but  feel  keenly. 

To  give  up  her  own  will  and  her  own  way,  for  the 
Lord's  in  the  new  and  higher  relations,  was  a  sub 
mission  not  easy  to  make. 

But  hardest  of  all  it  was,  really  to  believe  that  the 
Lord  Jesus  would  do  all  for  her  that  she  needed, 
and  to  leave  it  entirely  with  him  to  do,  and  then  rest 
satisfied. 

Moses  doubtless  served  the  Lord  cheerfully  and 
easily,  as  the  shepherd  of  the  flock  of  his  father-in- 
law  in  the  land  of  Midian,  and  found  it  easy  to 
believe  the  Lord  would  keep  him  and  his  flock  from 
the  wild  beasts  and  Arabs,  but  to  follow  the  Lord 
and  trust  him  in  the  new  and  higher  sphere,  as  leader 
of  Israel,  to  which  the  Lord  called  him  from  Horeb, 
required  a  higher  consecration  and  a  greater  faith 
than  he  had  before. 

So  with  this  young  Christian,  called  to  a  higher 
and  a  holier  Christian  life.  But  as  in  the  case  of  Mo 
ses,  so  in  hers,  the  communion  of  the  one  hour  with 
the  Lord  himself,  gave  the  happy  result,  which 
others,  who  take  another  course  than  that  of  going 
directly  to  the  Lord  and  looking  in  child-like 
simplicity  to  him  to  put  them  in  the  way,  reach 
only  after  months  and  years  of  fruitless  toil  and 
many  sad  failures. 

She  was  alone  in  her  new  home  when  convinced. 
It  was  one  Sabbath  morning.  The  blessed  privilege 
of  worship  with  the  people  of  God,  prized  when  she 


BELIEVE!  ONLY  BELIEVE.  165 

enjoyed  it,  and  now  doubly  prized  when  lost  —  was 
denied  her.  To  make  herself  the*  best  possible 
amends,  she  took  to  reading,  prayer,  and  medita 
tion  . 

Thus  engaged  the  Lord  met  her  and  opened  her 
eyes  to  see  what  great  things  he  had  yet  in  store 
for  her  if  she  would  give  herself  up  anew  to  him 
and  accept  of  his  promises. 

The  moment  she  was  convinced  she  laid  aside  her 
book,  and  bowed  upon  her  knees  before  the  Lord 
and  confessed  her  convictions,  and  asked  what  she 
must  do.  To  this  the  suggestion  came,  "  Give  the 
world  wholly  up."  This,  of  course,  she  had  done 
already  before  at  her  conversion,  as  far  as  she  then 
iinderstood  ;  but  as  yet,  then,  she  did  not  know  all 
the  world,  nor  yet  all  of  her  own  heart.  But  now 
she  counted  the  cost  as  to  pleasure  and  dress,  and 
friends,  and  everything,  and  then  most  heartily  re 
sponded,  "  Yes,  Lord,  I  will."  And  then  she  asked 
again,  "  What  more  must  I  do  ? "  In  answer  to 
this  came  the  suggestion,  "  You  must  confess  all 
that  the  Lord  does  for  you  before  the  church  and 
the  world."  There  was  a  circle  around  her,  and  a 
set  of  circumstances  which  made  this  a  great  trial. 
But  again  she  responded  heartily,  "  Yes,  Lord,  I 
will."  And  then  asked  yet  again,  "  What  more,  0 
Lord  ?  "  And  now  came  the  suggestion,  hardest  of 
all.  "  Believe,  only  believe."  She  said,  "  It  is  a 
great  thing  to  believe  that  the  Lord  can  and  will 


166  THE  HIGHER  CHRISTIAN  LIFE. 

cleanse  me  from  all  sin,  and  keep  me  by  his  power, 
and  present  me  spotless  before  the  throne.  He 
never  yet  has,  in  the  past  delivered  me  from  the 
power  of  the  enemy  entirely.  Yet  I  know  he  is 
almighty,  and  I  will  trust  him.  I  will  believe.  I 
do  believe."  This  settled,  she  asked  again,  "  What 
more,  0  Lord  ?  "  To  which  the  final  suggestion 
came,  "  Nothing  more.  This  is  all."  It  was  al 
most  as  hard  to  believe  that  this  was  all,  as  to  be 
lieve  that  Christ  would  do  all,  but  she  did  believe 
and  was  satisfied ;  so  she  thanked  the  Lord  for  his 
wonderful  condescension  and  love,  and  rose  from 
her  knees  at  rest  and  in  peace,  with  new  light  in 
her  heart,  and  new  light  on  her  pathway.  The  hour 
ended,  and  when  the  clock  told  out  that  she  was 
entering  upon  the  next  hour,  she  was  as  truly  in 
the  highway  as  if  she  had  first  tried  every  by-way  of 
them  all,  and  spent  months  and  years  in  weary  wan 
derings. 

Now  it  will  be  said,  she  was  a  child  and  easily 
led.  That  is  just  what  I  say.  She  was  a  child,  and 
childlike  she  never  once  thought  of  devising  any 
way  of  her  own,  and  as  for  church  or  minister  she 
had  none  to  inquire  of,  and  her  book  even,  she  laid 
aside,  and  went  directly  to  the  Lord  himself,  and 
he  put  her  at  once  in  the  way,  as  he  always  does 
those  who  go  to  him  in  this  child  like  spirit  of  de 
pendence  and  teachable  helplessness. 

Some  miss  the  way  by  taking  some  preconceived 


A  WAY  OF  THEIR  OWN.  167 

way  of  their  own.     A  peculiar  instance  of  this  sort 

occurred  in  the  case  of  S ,  a  theological  student, 

whose  habits,  character  and  experience  all  justify 
his  being  called 

THE     WORKER. 

His  fellow-students  and  the  faculty,  the  seminary 
social  circle,  and  all  the  churches  in  the  region, 
knew  S.  as  the  worker  of  the  seminary.  They 
had  their  lazy  ones  —  most  institutions  have  —  and 
their  students,  par  excellence,  and  their  praying 
ones  and  their  talking  ones.  S.  was  the  worker. 
If  tracts  were  to  be  distributed,  or  a  religious  visita 
tion  to  be  undertaken,  or  any  other  work  to 
be  done  around  the  institution,  S.  must  be  one  of 
the  party,  if  not  the  sole  one  to  do  the  work.  If 
any  of  the  city  churches  needed  a  worker,  and 
called  upon  either  of  the  professors  to  mention  some 
suitable  person  S..  was  sure  to  be  named.  If  a 
meeting  of  days  was  about  to  be  undertaken  any 
where  in  the  region,  whoever  might  be  the  preach 
ers,  S.  was  sure  to  be  the  worker. 

For  this  all  his  early  training  on  a  farm,  where 
morning,  noon,  and  night  he  was  at  work,  in  seed 
time  and  harvest,  winter  and  summer,  had  fitted 
him  physically; — strong  and  well,  he  was  able  to 
work  and  to  endure. 

His  conversion  and  religious  training,  had  con 
firmed  him  and  developed  his  bias,  as  a  worker. 


168  THE   HIGHER   CHRISTIAN   LIFE. 

Young  when  led  to  engage  in  the  service  of  God, 
his  activities  from  the  first  were  called  out  in  the 
work  of  his  church,  and  his  conscience  was  continu 
ally  driving  him  up  to  do  more  and  yet  more,  as  his 
fellow-students  had  abundant  occasion  to  know,  for, 
mingled  with  his  frequent  confessions,  in  their  meet 
ings,  of  his  own  short-comings  in  the  work  of  the 
Lord,  there  were  lashings,  not  few  nor  far  apart,  nor 
light  upon  the  galled  backs  of  his  wincing  compan 
ions,  for  their  indolence  and  inactivity.  Like  his  own 
sawbuck  and  woodsaw,  with  which  he  eked  out  a 
meagre  income,  he  was  never  idle  when  time  and 
chance  offered  for  work.  And  whoever  fell  into  his 
hands  must  be  cut  and  split  to  the  required  fitness 
for  the  Masters's  service,  or  resist  a  resolute  and 
faithful  workman.  He  was  no  mincer. 

Probably  this,  his  habit  and  character,  more  than 
everything  else  led  his  pastor  and  church  to  urge 
upon  him  the  question  of  becoming  a  minister,  and 
more  than  anything  else  pressed  him  on  into  the 
great  undertaking  of  eight  or  nine  long  years'  pre 
paration  in  the  schools. 

While  in  the  seminary,  in  the  first  part  of  his 
three  years'  course,  a  circumstance  happened  which 
still  more  confirmed  this  inveterate  characteristic. 
In  one  of  the  city  churches  a  meeting  had  been 
commenced.  S.  was  engaged  as  usual  and  at  work 
with  both  hands  full.  After  a  few  days  a  singular 
change  came  over  him.  He  ceased  his  working, 


CLOUDS  DRIVEN  AWAY.  169 

and  began  to  mope.  He  seemed  terribly  cast  down. 
Ministers  and  people  saw  it  and  wondered  at  it.  By 
and  by  one  day  he  went  to  Mr.  A.,  a  minister  in 
whose  wisdom  he  had  the  greatest  confidence,  and 
opened  his  heart.  He  had  fallen  into  great  doubt 
and  distress  about  himself.  "  I  have  been  at  work 
for  years  trying  to  save  others,"  he  said,  "  and  I 
fear  I  am  myself  a  castaway.  I  see  no  other  way 
than  that  I  must  be  lost." 

Mr.  A.  answered  him,  saying,  "  0  my  dear  broth 
er,  leave  all  that  to  the  Lord.  He  will  take  care  of 
you.  Just  go  forward  blowing  the  ram's  horn," — 
alluding  to  a  sermon  just  preached  about  the  fall  of 
Jericho,  and  the  part  in  it  taken  by  the  Lord  him 
self  and  the  part  given  by  him  to  the  people — "  Just 
go  forward  blowing  the  ram's  horn,  and  all  the 
walls  of  doubt  and  difficulty  will  soon  fall  down  be 
fore  you.  You  will  come  off  conqueror,  and  more 
than  conqueror  over  all." 

In  an  instant  his  mind  was  made  up.  His  work  was 
resumed.  His  saddened  face  took  on  its  old  wonted 
expression  of  resolution,  and  his  voice  was  again 
lifted  up  in  the  old,  driving,  searching  style  and 
tone.  Yery  soon,  as  Mr.  A.  had  assured  him  it 
would  be,  his  doubts  disappeared  and  he  was  tri 
umphant. 

This  instruction  led  him  at  the  time  to  a  practical 
working  faith  in  the  Lord,  and  delivered  him  from 
his  darkness.  But  it  led  him  afterwards  to  fly  to 


170  THE  HIGHER   CHRISTIAN  LIFE. 

work  itself,  and  trust  in  that,  as  his  deliverer  from 
whatever  difficulty  or  danger  might  befall  him.  Was 
he  in  darkness  ?  Work  was  his  means  of  getting 
into  the  light.  Was  he  tempted  ?  He  flew  to  some 
work  of  mercy  to  put  the  tempter  to  flight.  Did 
coldness,  drowsiness,  begin  to  creep  over  him  ?  He 
aroused  himself,  girt  on  his  coat,  put  on  his  shoes, 
and  sallied  forth  to  some  arduous  labor  until  his 
spirit  was  as  wakeful,  and  his  zeal  as  ardent  as  he 
desired.  Just  as  he  was  wont,  in  a  cold  winter's 
day,  when  the  fire  in  his  room  was  low,  and  the 
cold  came  creeping  over  him,  so  that  it  could  not 
be  snapped  off  at  his  finger's  ends  by  clapping  hie 
hands  and  swinging  his  arms,  or  stamped  off  by  a 
brisk  circuit  time  after  time  around  his  room,  then 
instead  of  increasing  the  fire  in  his  stove,  to  go  out 
with  his  saw  and  saw-buck,  and  get  himself  all 
a-glowinthe  wood  yard  ;  just  so  he  managed  affairs 
in  the  interests  and  care  of  the  heart.  Work  was 
his  sovereign  specific  for  every  ill  the  spirit  is  heir 
to. 

In  this  frame  and  habit  he  was,  when  the  Lord 
convinced  him  more  deeply  than  ever  before  of  his 
guilt  and  pollution,  and  raised  the  great  ques 
tion  how  he  was  to  be  purified.  Others  around  him 
—  not  a  few  —  he  saw  who  had  been  far  below  him 
in  all  the  activities  of  the  Christian  life,  now  rising 
by  virtue  of  a  mysterious  experience  suddenly  far 
above  him  in  all  the  light  and  love  and  joy  and 


HUMBLED   AND   DISPIRITED.  171 

peace  of  the  Christian.  And  it  took  him  aback,  put 
him  sadly  about  as  the  expressive  Scotch  phrase 
gives  it. 

To  set  anything  more  excellent  before  S.  was  to 
put  him  on  the  stretch  for  it.  In  his  own  mind 
there  was  not  a  moment's  delay  when  once  he  was 
convinced  of  the  realities  of  the  experience  in  ques 
tion.  But  he  did  not  at  once  acknowledge  it.  His 
pride  of  superiority  at  first  would  not  allow  that. 
He  had  given  his  companions  too  many  lashings  for 
being  so  far  below  him,  to  be  willing  at  once  to  admit 
to  them  that  they  were  getting  above  him. 

Of  course  there  was  not  the  least  question  about 
what  must  be  done.  Work  was  the  only  thing  — 
work  would  be  sovereign.  It  always  had  been  be 
fore  ;  it  would  be  now.  So  he  redoubled  his  ener 
gies  and  activitie's.  Laid  upon  his  shoulders  greater 
burdens  than  ever,  —  and  lashed  them  if  through 
weakness  of  the  flesh  they  failed  to  bear  it.  Nights 
he  studied  and  prayed.  Days  he  spent  abroad 
amongst  the  people  at  work.  Failing  in  this  process 
at  home,  he  obtained  leave  of  absence  and  went 
abroad,  to  attend  distant  meetings  in  progress,  work 
ing  as  hard  as  Loyola,  or  any  galley  slave  ever 
did,  and  with — just  as  much  —  not  a  whit  more 
—  success  in  breaking  his  chains,  and  gaining  re 
lease  from  the  poWer  of  sin. 

At  last  he  returned  humbled  and  dispirited,  and 
sent  for  a  fellow-student  who  had  been  somewhat 


172  THE  HIGHER  CHRISTIAN  LIFE. 

useful  as  the  Master's  servant  in  leading  the  inquir 
ing  to  look  to  him  alone  for  relief  and  release. 

To  his  question,  "  What  must  I  do  ?  "  the  re 
sponse  was,  "  What  have  you  been  doing  ?  "  "  Work 
ing,"  was  the  substance  of  the  answer  to  this.  "  It 
is  trusting,  not  working,  by  which  God  has  ordained 
to  save  sinners,"  was  the  response  again.  And  now 
opened  a  scene  such  as  is  rare  upon  earth.  "  What ! " 
said  S.,  "Do  you  say  that  working  to  save  others, 
will  not  deliver  me  from  my  own  sins  ?  "  "  I  do  — 
work  is  not  the  Saviour.  Jesus  alone  can  save. 
Works  spring  from  faith,  not  faith,  from  works." 
"  Do  you  say  that  praying,  and  fasting,  and  reading 
the  Bible  and  teaching  and  leading  others  to  do  so, 
will  not,  under  Jesus,  save  my  soul  from  the  power 
of  corruption  ?  "  "I  do  say  just  that.  Your  own 
work  for  yourself  or  others  can  never  save  your 
soul.  You  are  leaning  upon  a  broken  reed,  to  be 
pierced  through  with  many  sorrows.  You  are  re 
jecting  Jesus  the  only  Saviour,  and  putting  your 
own  imperfect  and  polluted  work  in  his  stead  —  not, 
it  is  true,  as  your  merit,  but  as  the  power  by  which 
God  is  to  save  you.  Jesus  alone  is  the  Saviour,  and 
Trust  alone  in  him  is  the  condition  upon  which  he 
saves. 

The  effect  of  this  one  moment's  conversation  was 
overwhelming  to  poor  S.  Every  prop  upon  which 
he  was  leaning  seemed  to  be  suddenly  stricken  from 
under  him.  His  footing  from  the  firmness  of  the 


STORM   PASSED  BY — FEE!  ON  THE  ROCK.        173 

solid  rock  seemed,  in  one  instant  to  have  dissolved 
to  the  mobility  of  quicksand.  He  threw  himself  back 
in  his  arm-chair,  clasped  his  hands  over  his  face, 
and  a  convulsive  shiver  shook  his  manly  frame  from 
head  to  foot  in  every  muscle.  He  grew  palid  and 
horror-stricken.  Kolled  up  his  eye-balls  convulsively, 
and  exclaimed,  hoarsely,  huskily,  catching  for 
breath,  like  one  in  the  agonies  of  sudden  death, — 
"  I  am  sinking !  —  I  am  sinking —  into  hell !  " 

His  fellow-student  sat  a  moment  confounded  —  in 
silence  —  then  most  affectionately  and  urgently  as 
sured  S.,  that  the  arms  of  everlasting  mercy  were 
beneath  him.  That  he  could  not  sink  into  hell,  that 
Jesus  was  with  him  and  would  save  him,  and  much 
more  to  the  same  purpose,  but  all  in  vain. 

Constrained  at  last  to  leave  S.  to  himself  and  the  Sa 
viour,  he  went  to  his  own  quarters,  with  a  subdued 
and  saddened  spirit,  to  bear  the  poor  fellow  up  before 
the  mercy  seat  in  the  urgent  sympathising  petition  of 
faith.  Next  morning  calling  early,  he  found  S.  pale 
but  peaceful ;  stripped  of  his  glorying  and  trusting 
in  works,  and  resting  now  upon  Jesus.  Humbled, 
quiet,  and  subdued.  The  storm  had  passed  by,  and 
swept  him  from  the  quicksand  of  his  works,  but  the 
hand  that  raised  the  storm  had  been  stretched  forth 
in  the  midst  of  it  to  grasp  him,  and  set  his  feet 
upon  the  Rock  of  Ages  forever. 

He  lives  to  work  on,  and  work  more  and  more 
wisely  than  ever.  Revival  after  revival  crowned  his 


174  THE  HIGHER  CHRISTIAN    LIFE. 

labors.  But  he  will  never  again  put  his  works  in 
the  place  of  Jesus,  as  his  Saviour  from  sin. 

This  traces  in  lines  clear  and  distinct  on  our 
chart,  one  of  the  by-ways  —  that  of  works  for  oth 
ers  as  a  means  of  sanctifying  ourselves, 

Another  is  that  of  looking  to  books,  or  men,  or 
both,  for  the  light  of  the  way  which  God  alone  can 
give. 

Another  is  that  of  taking  a  bold  stand  for  stigma 
tized  truths  and  unpopular  reforms,  as  a  means  of 
humbling  ourselves  in  the  dust,  and  so  of  sanctify 
ing  ourselves  to  the  Lord. 

Another  is  that  of  increased  punctiliousness  in 
the  observance  of  rites  and  ceremonies,  and  all  the 
minor  matters  of  the  law.  The  annise-and-mmt- 
tithing  way  of  the  Pharisees  of  old,  and  the  tracta- 
rian  way  of  the  Pharisees  of  our  own  day,  upon 
the  principle  tfcat  perfection,  in  external  sanctity, 
will  sanctify  the  heart. 

Another  is  that  of  praying  for  the  Holy  Spirit  to 
come  and  work  in  us  some  certain  states  of  mind 
and  heart  which  we  imagine  to  be  sanctification,  or 
holiness,  seeking  to  be  made  consciously  holy. 
Praying  for  the  Spirit  and  prescribing  to  Him  His 
work.  Whereas,  when  he  comes  it  is  to  work 
according  to  his  own  good  pleasure  —  not  according 
to  ours — and  to  make  us  conscious  of  our  unholiness, 
that  we  may  find  our  holiness  in  Christ,  not  in  our 
selves. 


W:oc  LI 

(JV    Tfr. 


A  DELIGHTFUL  WORK. 


Now  to  illustrate  these  by-ways  one  by  one,  each 
by  a  life  sketch,  would  be  easy,  and  not  without  in 
terest  and  profit,  but  it  would  require  a  volume 
almost. 

There  are  those  who  have  tried  nearly  every  by 
way  of  them  all  —  run  each  out  in  turn  to  the 
bitter  end  of  disappointment,  before  finally  going  to 
Jesus  as  the  way.  One  such  would  give  us  a  com 
plete  chart  of  them  all  in  the  single  sketch  of  his 
own  blunderings.  Such  a  one  is  at  hand. 

THE    PASTOR. 

He  is  no  blunderer  either,  in  other  matters.  Few 
more  careful,  or  wise,  or  discreet,  than  he.  Abun 
dant  success  in  his  pastoral  work  shows  that.  And 
yet  he  calls  himself,  —  as  we  shall  have  occasion  to 
see  in  the  end,  in  view  of  the  long  succession  of  blun 
ders  he  made  in  his  efforts  to  learn  the  way  of 
sanctification  experimentally, — a  fool.  How  and 
when  and  where  he  was  convinced,  is  not  at  all  es 
sential  to  our  chart.  Possibly  it  may  have  been  in 
connexion  with  a  very  delightful  work  amongst  the 
students  of  another  of  our  Theological  Semina 
ries.  Such  a  work  there  was,  and  in  it  many 
of  the  young  gentlemen  came  to  see  and  understand 
the  way  of  sanctification  by  faith,  and  to  be  filled 
with  the  Holy  Spirit,  and  the  pastor  knew  much  of 
this  work  and  commended  it  publicly.  It  would  be 
a  glorious  thing,  if  from  year  to  year,  each  and  all 


176  THE   HIGHER   CHRISTIAN  LIFE. 

of  our  schools  of  the  prophets  could  be  baptized  in 
this  way. 

Possibly  it  was  the  conscious  leanness  of  his  own 
soul  which  made  him  hunger  and  thirst  for  the 
precious  things  of  God.  Not  that  he  was  not  a 
devoted  Christian  and  minister.  There  was  no 
apparent  lack  of  this  kind.  Indeed  he  was  far  more 
than  most  others  a  faithful,  earnest,  tender,  thor 
ough,  pastor  and  preacher,  and  for  this  very  reason, 
he  would  be  the  more  likely  to  feel  deeply  his  own 
want  of  this  very  experience  of  the  way  of  sanctifi- 
cation.  Those  who  are  most  earnest  in  pressing 
forward,  come  soonest  into  the  light,  which  reveals 
their  own  pollutions.  The  laggards  among  the 
prophets,  are  not  apt  to  have  visions  of  God  in  his 
exalted  purity  and  glory  making  them  exclaim, 
"  Woe  is  me  !  for  1  am  a  man  of  unclean  lips."  Such  a 
vision  —  with  the  live  coal  from  the  altar  to  take 
away  our  sins,  would  be  a  blessing  of  unspeakable 
value  to  every  ambassador  of  Christ,  and  there  are 
many  who  would  welcome  it,  gladly.  Perhaps  it 
was  the  increasing  desire  to  do  good,  and  to  learn 
the  way  to  gain  the  power  from  God  to  do  it.  Such 
aspirations  are  indeed  angel  visitants — not  few  or 
far  between — in  the  pastor's  heart. 

But,  however  it  was,  at  the  time  our  sketch  com 
mences,  the  pastor  had  become  deeply  convinced  and 
was  earnestly  longing  for  the  experience  in  question. 
He  wras  a  student,  and  student-like,  his  first  resort 
was  to  books.  Whatever  his  own  library  contained, 


BITTER  THINGS.  177 

or  the  book  stores  could  supply,  or  other  libraries 
could  lend,  he  got  and  devoured,  upon  the  subject 
of  the  higher  forms  of  Christian  experience.  He 
pored  over  the  memoirs  and  writings  of  the  most 
noted  in  each  of  the  three  classes  we  have  named. 
"  Lutheran,"  "  Wesleyan,"  and  "  Oberlinian."  He 
ranged  about  and  fed  with  the  greediness  of  Pha 
raoh's  lean  kine,  and  gained — as  much  —  but  no 
more  by  it.  He  read,  marked,  learned,  and  inward 
ly  digested,  the  experiences  of  all  he  could  hear 
about,  who  had  found  the  way  to  the  tree  of  life  and 
fattened  upon  its  twelve  manner  of  fruits  —  but  he 
was  lean  as  ever. 

His  church  had  reason  to  know  something  of  this. 
If  he  devoured  books  as  the  silk  worm  does  mul 
berry  leaves,  for  his  own  food,  it  gave  material  for 
the  pulpit  and  the  prayer  meeting,  which  like  the 
cocoons  of  the  silk  worm,  the  people  had  occasion 
to  spin  and  weave  into  close  fitting  garments  for 
themselves.  Like  others  who  write  bitter  things 
against  themselves,  he  of  course  told  his  people  over 
and  over,  that  they  were  no  better  than  they  ought 
to  be,  and  were  in  great  need  of  a  deeper  work  of 
grace  as  well  as  himself.  Like  Leigh  Richmond 
tinder  conviction,  unconverted  but  preaching,  he 
preached  his  people  into  convictions  like  his  own, 
but  had  no  power  to  point  them  the  way  out ;  for  as 
yet,  and  for  a  long  while,  he  did  not  know  it  him 
self. 

8* 


178  THE  HIGHER   CHRISTIAN  LIFE. 

Meanwhile,  he  wrote  to  the  living,  or  visited  them, 
from  whom  he  hoped  to  receive  light.  But  neither 
the  illustrious  dead  by  their  memoirs,  nor  the  living 
by  their  words,  could  give  him  the  light  of  the  way 
of  life.  They  could  tell  him  what  to  do  —  could 
tell  him  to  consecrate  himself,  and  to  believe  ;  but 
they  could  not  make  him  understand.  The  Lord 
alone  could  do  that,  and  he  had  not  yet  learned  to 
go  as  a  child  and  ask  the  way. 

Strange  we  are  so  slow  to  learn  that  the  Lord 
alone  can  open  the  eyes  of  the  blind,  unstop  the 
ears  of  the  deaf,  and  set  the  prisoner  free  ! 

All  books,  like  the  book  in  the  Apocalypse,  are 
sealed,  until  they  are  opened  by  Him  who  sits 
upon  the  throne.  And  the  living  teacher,  though 
he  were  an  Isaiah,  is  no  better  than  the  dumb,  until 
our  ears  are  opened  by  the  Lord  to  hear,  and  our 
hearts  to  understand  his  words.  The  word  of  God 
itself,  is  only  a  dead  letter  to  us,  until  we  look  to 
the  living  Saviour  for  light,  and  he  then  makes  it  a 
quickening  spirit. 

The  pastor  failed  to  look  to  Jesus  directly  for  the 
light,  and  so  every  book  from  the  Bible  downwards 
failed  to  give  it  to  him. 

Baffled  in  this  quarter  he  turned  to  another.  His 
next  movement  was  that  of  humbling  himself  by 
taking  a  bold  stand  for  unpopular  truths  and  re 
forms.  Pulpit  and  platform  and  press,  groaned 
under  his  appeals.  He  challenged  the  world  to  say 
what  it  pleased  about  him,  and  let  them  know  that 


CLEANSING    THE   OUTSIDE.  179 

he  was  not  to  be  turned  from  his  course,  or  kept 
back  by  fear  of  the  brand.  Relentlessly  and 
heroically  he  pushed  his  crusades.  Not  so  much, 
however,  in  hope  to  secure  the  reforms,  as  to  hum 
ble  and  sanctify  himself.  And  what  was  the  result  ? 
Was  he  humbled  and  sanctified  ?  No.  But  lifted 
Tip  in  the  pride  of  his  heart,  so  that  he  began  to 
despise  his  brethren  who  did  not  come  out  and 
stand  with  him,  and  stand  by  him  ;  and  although 
not  at  all  inclined  to  censoriousness,  it  was  hard  for 
him  to  withhold  denunciations  of  their  course.  At 
last, — seeing  as  he  did,  the  rising  pride  of  his  heart, 
when  he  looked  to  see  it  thoroughly  humbled  in  the 
dust, — hope  from  this  quarter  died  out  and  he  turn 
ed  to  another. 

It  would  have  been  strange  indeed,  if  he  had  not 
tried  making  the  outside  of  the  cup  and  the  platter 
clean,  to  sanctify  the  inside.  He  did  not  indeed 
pull  up  his  carpets,  and  sell  them,  with  every  other 
elegance  or  curiosity  or  luxury  of  his  house,  as  some 
have  done.  His  tasteful  and  excellent  wife,  might 
have  put  in  some  serious  objections  if  he  had  pro 
posed  it.  Possibly  he  thought  so,  and  therefore  said 
nothing  to  her  about  it.  Another  minister,  who  had 
gathered  a  splendid  library,  sold  all  and  gave  to 
the  poor,  under  a  similar  pressure,  reserving  only  a 
few  devotional  books,  and  a  few  absolutely  indispen 
sable. 

Our  pastor  was  wiser  than  that.  He  left  his 
library  complete.  It  seems  not  to  have  once  oc- 


180  THE   HIGHER   CHRISTIAN   LIFE. 

curred  to  him,  that  putting  the  light  out  of  his 
library  might  bring  it  into  his  mind ;  at  any  rate  he 
did  not  try  it.  The  mint-and-annise  process,  of 
course,  reached  his  wardrobe  and  person,  though  not 
to  any  very  ridiculous  extreme.  He  did  not  go  as 
far  as  the  lady  who  sold  her  wedding  ring,  and  then 
disposed  of  the  old  watch,  the  heirloom  of  her  pa 
ternal  ancestry,  because  conscience  would  not  down 
at  her  bidding,  and  because  she  hoped  by  stripping 
her  person  of  the  last  jewels  and  ornaments,  to 
bedeck  her  spirit  with  the  higher  graces  coveted. 

But  whatever  he  did  or  did  not  do,  he  failed  in 
all,  and  gave  up  hope  in  this  quarter  in  turn. 

He  had  now  tried,  first,  inquiring  of  books  and 
men  for  the  way,  and  failed.  Next,  he  had  sought 
humility  of  heart  by  braving  reproach,  and  failed. 
Next,  he  had  tried  punctilious  observances,  regula 
ting  dress  and  time,  and  occupations,  and  expenses, 
and  intercourse  with  the  world,  and  everything  by 
rule,  as  a  means  of  regulating  the  heart,  and  failed. 

What  next  ? 

Now  he  turned  to  seek  the  Holy  Spirit  by  prayer, 
to  do  the  work  which  he  took  it  for  granted  would 
be  done  ;  that  is,  cleanse  his  soul  and  give  him  to 
feel  that  he  was  really  holy.  This  he  pushed  more 
urgently  than  all  before.  Every  book  upon  prayer 
was  searched,  the  Bible  above  all.  Every  example 
of  the  prevalence  of  man  with  his  God,  and  every 
promise,  was  weighed  with  the  care  of  one  who  is 


ENQUIRES  OF  THE  LORD.  181 

gathering  and  sifting  gold  dust  for  hi?  bags.  Not 
simply  to  be  treasured  either,  but  to  be  used,  rather 
as  bank-notes  are  by  the  holder  who  presents  thena 
at  the  counter  for  payment. 

Through  all  his  struggles  and  troubles,  his  church 
of  course,  shared  largely,  whether  they  knew  it  or 
not,  what  was  passing  in  his  heart.  And  more  than 
ever  he  had  come  now,  upon  a  course  which  was 
suitable  to  urge  upon  them.  They  were  stirred  up 
to  pray,  as  they  never  had  been  before.  Pray  to 
test  the  power  of  prayer.  Pray  to  sanctify  them 
selves.  Pray  that  the  Lord  would  come  down  and 
work  in  pentecostal  power  in  their  own  hearts  and 
in  all  around  them.  And  they  did  pray  —  but  their 
pastor  prayed  more;  and  more  than  they  all.  Hour 
after  hour,  alone  with  his  God,  he  wrestled  with  the 
pertinacity  of  a  Jacob,  but  not  like  Jacob  to  prevail. 

Time  passed  on  ;  day  after  day,  week  after  week 
flew  by,  and  yet  the  blessing  delayed.  The  Spirit 
did  not  come  upon  either  pastor  or  people.  He 
was  confounded,  and  began  to  inquire  what  it  could 
mean.  He  was  at  last  completely  at  his  wit's  end. 
and  falling  before  the  Lord  confessed  it.  His  plans, 
one  after  one,  had  all  been  tried  out  and  failed.  He 
could  devise  nothing  more  ;  now  what  should  he  do  ? 
There  was  nothing  more  that  he  could  do  but  to 
inquire  of  the  Lord  what  to  do.  For  the  first  time 
therefore  in  all  this  history  of  successive  struggles 
he  was  prepared  to  come  to  the  Lord  himself,  not  to 


182  THE   HIGHER   CHRISTIAN  LIFE. 

have  any  plan  of  his  own  confirmed  and  carried  out, 
but  to  ask  after  the  Lord's  plan,  and  be  led  into  it. 
And  this  he  did  most  heartily.  He  threw  himself 
upon  the  Saviour  to  be  shown  the  way,  and  there 
he  rested  the  matter. 

Rising  from  before  the  Lord,  he  opened  his  Bible  at 
the  oft  read  seventh  of  Romans,  and  read  over  again 
the  history  in  miniature,  of  his  own  vain  struggles  in 
the  weary  months  and  years  gone  by.  Coming  to  the 
closing  question,  "  O  wretched  man  that  I  am  ivho 
shall  deliver  me  from  the  body  of  this  death  ?  "  he 
read  it  and  re-read  it  with  a  sigh,  and  then  passed  on 
to  the  answer,  "  I  thank  God  through  Jesus  Christ 
my  Lord"  The  light  flashed  through  his  soul,  that 
Jesus  was  the  deliverer  from  sin,  just  as  he  had 
been  his  deliver  from  condemnation.  And  spring 
ing  to  his  feet  he  could  scarce  restrain  himself  from 
leaping  for  joy,  exclaiming,  "  What  a  fool  I  have 
been !  What  a  fool  I  have  been !  Strange  I  have 
never  seen  this  before.  There  never  has  been  an 
hour  through  all  this  time,  when  if  I  had  seen  any 
one  doing  to  obtain  forgiveness  of  sin  what  I  have 
been  doing  to  obtain  purification  from  sin,  that  I 
should  not  have  said,  '  0  foolish  man,  you  are  re 
jecting  Christ  the  way  in  vain  efforts  to  be  saved  in 
your  own  way.'  What  a  fool  I  have  been  !  What 
a  fool  I  have  been  ! " 

Light  came  in  a  flood.     His  joy  was  tumultuous. 

By  and  by,  when  it  calmed  down  to  something 


THE  NEW  ERA.  183 

like  the  even  flow  of  peace,  he  opened  his  Bible  and 
ran  it  through  and  through,  everywhere  seeing  the 
confirmation  of  the  fact  that  sanctification  like  jus 
tification  is  by  faith  in  the  Lord  Jesus,  that  the  just 
shall  live  as  well  as  be  made  alive  by  faith. 

And  now  commenced  a  new  era  in  his  preaching 
and  teaching.  The  days  of  scolding  were  over  and 
gone.  He  had  found  green  pastures  for  his  flock, 
and  he  delighted  to  lead  them  there,  and  they  were 
delighted  to  be  led. 

Now  also  came  the  beginning  of  a  revival  in  that 
church,  the  end  whereof  has  not  yet  been  seen  at 
this  writing.  Through  all  the  days  of  scolding  and 
driving,  neither  pastor  nor  people  could  do  for  the 
cause  of  the  Redeemer  what  now  it  is  easy  for  them 
to  do.  For  now  they  have  a  mind  to  the  work ;  and 
they  work  with  a  will  and  a  wisdom  new  in  their 
history.  Many  a  dark  place  never  ventured  upon 
before,  has  now  been  lighted  up  by  their  presence, 
and  many  a  hard  piece  of  work,  too  hard  for  them 
in  all  the  past,  has  now  been  undertaken  and  done. 
And  so  the  wilderness  all  around  is  made  glad  for 
them,  and  the  desert  begins  to  blossom  as  the  rose. 

With  this  sketch  of  the  pastor's  experience,  we 
close  these  illustrations  of  the  way  to  attain  abiding 
union  with  Jesus. 

In  endeavoring  to  show  what  it  is,  a  basis  has 
been  laid,  in  historical  examples.  And  in  illustrat 
ing  the  way,  sketches  from  life  have  been  given. 


184  THE  HIGHER   CHRISTIAN   LIFE. 

These  sketches  have  all  been  drawn  from  the 
world  of  fact,  not  of  fiction.  Most  of  them  are  nar 
ratives  of  scenes  and  circumstances  which  have  taken 
place  tinder  the  writer's  own  observation. 

In  taking  these,  rather  than  those  already  on 
record,  we  have  hoped  both  to  secure  greater  inter 
est,  and  also  to  add  to  the  wealth  of  the  church  in 
its  treasures  of  this  kind. 

Strange  and  extraordinary  experiences  have  not 
been  sought,  but  rather  the  simple  histories  of  the 
more  frequent  workings  of  God  in  salvation. 

Strange  things  startle  and  arouse,  but  guidance 
and  instruction  come  rather  from  scenes  and  cir 
cumstances  not  too  far  above  us. 

"  You  come  down  to  me,  in  what  you  say.  I  can 
understand  you.  You  make  it  plain  and  simple. 
Others  bewilder  me.  They  talk  of  things  too  high 
—  too  wonderful  for  me.  I  cannot  understand 
them." 

This  is  a  remark  the  successful  teacher  often 
hears.  His  is  a  work,  not  of  dazzling,  but  of  lead 
ing.  And  hitherto  this  has  been  our  aim. 

Passing  now  to  the  illustration  of  the  progress 
and  power  gained  by  abiding  in  Jesus,  the  same 
course  will  be  followed.  The  Bible,  and  Memoirs, 
and  hitherto  unrecorded  facts,  known  to  be  facts, 
will  be  the  staple  of  our  material.  God  grant  grace 
and  wisdom  in  the  work.  To  Him  be  glory,  all  the 
glory,  and  always  the  glory.  Amen. 


THE  HIGHER  CHRISTIAN  LIFE. 


PART  III. 


PROGRESS  AND  POWER, 

Soul,  then  know  thy  full  salvation; 

Rise  o'er  sin  and  fear  and  care; 
Joy  to  find  in  every  station, 

Something  still  to  do  or  bear, 
Think  what  Spirit  dwells  within  thee; 

Think  what  Father's  smiles  are  thine; 
Think  that  Jesus  died  to  win  thee,  — 

Child  of  heaven,  canst  thou  repine? 

Haste  thee  on  from  grace  to  glory, 

Armed  by  faith  and  winged  with  prayer, 
Heaven's  eternal  day  before  thee, 

God's  own  hand  shall  guide  thee  there. 
Soon  shall  close  thy  earthly  mission, 

Soon  shall  pass  thy  pilgrim  days, 
Hope  shall  change  to  glad  fruition 

Faith  to  sight,  and  prayer  to  praise. 


PART    III. 


CHAPTER  I. 


STAGES    OF    PROGRESS. 

STARTING  POINTS  NOT  STOPPING  PLACES. 

"  I  do  not  like  this  idea  of  a  definite  point  to  be 
gained.  I  have  no  faith  in  any  stopping  place  in 
the  Christian  course  this  side  of  heaven." 

The  tone  of  this  remark  had  a  shade  of  impa 
tience  and  contempt,  accompanied  by  just  the 
slightest  curl  of  the  lip  and  all  the  emphasis  of  a 
finality. 

The  young  gentleman  who  made  it  had,  the  day 
before  —  it  was  now  Monday  morning  —  been  trying 
the  new-fledged  wings  of  his  recent  licensure,  and 
was  just  returning  in  the  cars  to  the  halls  of  theo 
logical  lore,  to  make  a  new  sermon  or  mend  the  old 
one,  against  the  time  of  the  next  invitation  from  an 

187 


188  THE   HIGHER   CHRISTIAN  LIFE. 

over-worked  pastor  needing  respite,  or  a  vacant 
church,  seeking  supply. 

The  gentleman  to  whom  it  was  made  was  one  of  some 
dozen  years'  experience  as  a  minister  of  the  gospel, 
seated  by  his  side  in  the  cars.  The  two  had  providen 
tially  met  a  few  moments  before  in  the  depot,  and 
been  introduced  by  a  mutual  friend.  Seated  togeth 
er,  and  whirling  along  toward  B.,  they  beat  about 
for  a  while  in  desultory  conversation  upon  various 
things  general  or  personal,  but  soon  settled  upon 
the  topic  of  the  higher  walks  of  the  Christian  life. 
Some  turn  in  their  talk  had  called  out  this  remark. 

"  No,"  added  the  young  gentleman  deliberately, 
with  a  peculiar  emphasis  of  a  deep  downward  in 
flection  on  the  word  hate.  "  No,  I  hate  the  idea  of 
a  certain  fixed  point  to  be  gained  —  a  resting  place 
—  the  all  in  all  to  be  aimed  at  or  expected  by  the 
Christian." 

His  travelling  companion,  in  the  softened  tone  of 
a  mellowed  experience  of  the  love  of  Christ,  and  of 
a  developed  patience  with  the  foibles  of  mortals  like 
himself,  suggested  that  perhaps  his  friend  had 
yoked  together  a  right  idea  with  a  wrong  one,  and 
was  condemning  the  innocent  with  the  guilty,  sim 
ply  from  having  himself  unwittingly  placed  it  in 
bad  company.  "  You  are  certainly  right  in  reject 
ing  the  idea  of  any  stopping  place  for  the  Christian 
this  side  of  heaven  ;  but  are  you  sure  that  a  defi 
nite  point  in  experience  is  a  stopping-place  9  " 


DEFINITE  POINTS.  189 

"  We  are  rushing  along  in  the  cars  at  the  rate  of 
twenty  miles  an  hour  towards  A.,  and  I  have  no 
thought  of  stopping  until  it  is  reached  ;  but  we 
have  just  now  passed  the  very  definite  point  B., 
in  our  journey,  and  have  been  doubly  advertised  of 
the  fact  by  the  car  whistle  as  we  were  halting,  and 
the  clear  voice  of  the  conductor  calling  out  B., 
in  the  long-drawn  manner  to  be  heard  over  all  the 
din  of  voices  and  clatter  of  feet,  and  also  by  the 
name  B.,  in  large  letters  upon  the  front  of  the 
depot.  And  in  a  few  moments  again,  we  shall  come 
to  C.,  another  very  definite  point  —  both  on  our 
checks  and  on  the  bills,  known  and  read  of  all  jour- 
neyers  by  rail.  And  yet  beyond  the  moment  spent 
in  wooding  and  watering,  and  stretching  our  limbs — 
are  they  in  any  proper  sense  stopping  places  —  much 
less  the  all  in  all  aimed  at  and  expected  by  jour- 
neyers  to  A.  ?  Are  they  not  —  mere  stages  in  the 
journey  —  new  and  nearer  starting  points  for  home  ? 
You  do  not  believe  in  conversion  perhaps  ?  " 

"  0  yes,  indeed  I  do ;  and  teach  it  too.  I  believe 
in  it,  and  urge  it  with  all  my  might  upon  every 
body  as  a  distinct  experience,  the  privilege  and  neces 
sity  of  all,  known  by  signs  before  and  signs  follow 
ing,  clear  and  easily  distinguishable.  " 

"  Well,  is  the  new  birth  a  final  stopping  place  ?  " 

"  0,  no,  indeed  !  Too  many,  it  is  to  be  feared, 
think  they  have  gained  all  —  when  once  they  have 


190  THE  HIGHER  CHRISTIAN  LIFE, 

gained  clear  evidence  that  they  have  been  born 
again  —  until  they  are  afterwards  reluctantly  taught 
better,  but  it  is  only  the  starting-  point  of  the  Chris 
tian  race." 

"  Well,  may  there  not  be  another  period  as  well, 
the  new  starting  point  of  a  higher  progress,  just  as 
distinctly  marked  as  conversion  itself,  and  the 
second  no  more  a  stopping  place  than  the  first  ?  " 

The  young  gentleman  was  interested  —  not  con 
vinced  —  and  eager  and  more  eager  as  they  rushed 
on  toward  the  moment  and  place  of  separation,  to 
have  his  car  companion  unfold  his  ideas  of  the  un 
folding  Christian  life. 

Willing  rather  to  put  his  young  friend  upon  the 
permanent  track  of  a  higher  happiness  and  of  a 
nobler  usefulness,  than  merely  to  gratify  any  mo 
mentary  curiosity,  the  servant  of  Jesus  graphically 
delineated  the  two  stages  of  experience  as  they  have 
been  given  to  the  world  by  eminent  men  from  their 
own  personal  history,  Luther  and  D'Aubigne  amongst 
the  number.  Each  stage  he  described  as  the  defi 
nite  attainment  of  an  actual  progress,  the  first  as 
the  victory  conquering  peace,  and  the  second  as  a 
new  start,  both  in  a  richer  peace  and  a  more  expan 
sive  wisdom  and  beneficence. 

As  the  conversation  went  on  and  the  point  of 
separation  drew  near,  the  fire  kindled  in  the  ingen 
uous  heart  of  the  young  man  and  shone  forth  in  his 
noble  face. 


THE  PARTING.  191 

Hope  —  a  new  hope  of  gaining  for  himself,  Luth 
er  like,  a  deeper,  stronger  vital  union  with  the  True 
Vine,  and  a  more  generous  fruitage  in  the  vineyard 
of  his  Lord,  just  now  opening  out  before  him, 
sprang  up  in  his  soul.  He  frankly  confessed  his 
fruitless  struggles  and  sad  disappointments  in  the 
past,  and  as  frankly  owned  his  now  newly  awakened 
hope  for  the  future.  Many  things  said  by  his  com 
panion  struck  deep  into  the  generous  soil  of  his 
ardent  young  heart,  and  clear  and  active  mind : 
nothing  however  more  deeply  than  the  two-fold 
significance  of  the  text  which  became  the  Re 
former's  watchword  and  talisman,  "  The  just  shall 
live  by  faith."  The  just  shall  be  made  alive  first, 
and  afterwards  learn  to  live  by  faith.  The  just  shall 
be  justified  before  God  first,  and  afterwards  learn 
the  way  to  become  just  also  in  heart  and  life,  by 
faith.  This  two-lold  significanc3  of  the  text,  illus 
trated  by  its  suggestion  the  first  and  the  second 
times  in  the  Reformer's  heart,  as  by  a  celestial  voice 
within,  with  the  interval  of  years  between  the  two, 
and  meeting  in  each  case  a  want  so  different,  caused 
the  young  man  to  exclaim,  "  0  the  depth  of  the 
riches  of  the  word  of  God !  What  hidden  force  it 
contains  !  We  get  but  half  of  it  at  most,  and  then 
too  often  think  we  have  all !  " 

They  parted  with  reluctance.  But  cars  like  time 
and  tide  wait  for  no  man.  With  their  shrill  signals 
and  ringing-bells,  they  constantly  reiterate  the  words 


192  THE  HIGHER  CHRISTIAN  LIFE. 

of  warning  and  wisdom,  "  What  thou  doest,  do 
quickly,  "  though,  alas,  only  too  many  like  Judas 
are  hurried  on  by  them  to  the  betrayal  of  the  Mas 
ter  for  silver.  Not  so  with  our  travellers,  however. 
Our  young  friend  had  even  now,  got  a  spur  and  a 
life-long  power  also  in  the  work  of  his  Master,  and 
his  companion's  heart  like  the  fountain,  welling  up 
and  full  to  the  brim,  was  all  the  fresher  and  not  a 
whit  the  less  full  for  all  he  had  given  to  his  thirsty 
fellow-traveller  by  the  way. 

Was  it  not  just  such  conversations,  in  just  such 
places  that  the  prophet  Malachi  referred  to,  when  he 
said,  "  Then  they  that  feared  the  Lord  spake  often 
one  to  another,  and  the  Lord  hearkened  and  heard, 
and  a  book  of  remembrance  was  written  before  him. 
And  they  shall  be  mine,  saith  the  Lord,  in  that  day 
when  I  make  up  my  jewels.  And  I  will  spare  them 
as  a  man  spareth  his  own  son  that  serve th  him.  " 

Surely,  the  Lord,  in  this  instance,  did  stoop  down 
and  bend  his  ear  to  their  talk  by  the  way,  for  he  evi 
dently  sealed  it  to  the  permanent  blessing  of  the 
young  man,  giving  him  —  it  may  be  hoped  — 
in  his  own  happy  experience  the  evidence  in  liis 
own  case  of  a  definite  point  gained,  not  a  final 
stopping-place,  but  the  new  and  nearer  starting 
point  of  a  higher  and  happier  progress.  The  moment 
came.  They  had  met  for  the  first  time,  and  now 
were  about  to  part  for  the  last  time,  to  meet  again — 
not  until  that  hour  when  each  shall  come  bearing 


TWO  IDEAS — NOT   YOKE-FELLOWS.  193 

his  sheafs  with  him.  Their  hearts  were  touched  ; 
the  warm  grasp  of  their  hands  told  it  more  than 
their  words. 

"  I  shall  never  forget  you,  sir,  nor  this  hour  in 
the  cars.  Already,  long  ago,  I  was  made  alive  by 
faith,  and  the  day  and  the  hour  are  engraven  in  liv 
ing  letters  in  my  memory.  It  was  the  starting 
point  of  Christian  life  with  me  ;  but  never  until  this 
hour  have  I  learned  that  the  way  to  live,  is  also, 
and  in  the  same  way  by  faith.  Now  I  trust  God 
has  taught  it  to  me,  and  this  is  to  me  a  new  and 
a  higher  stage  and  starting  point.  May  God  reward 
you,  sir.  Good  by."  "  Good  by.  The  Lord  make 
you  wise  and  strong  to  teach  others  the  way.  God 
bless  you."  So  they  parted,  the  one  to  go  on  his 
way  to  B.  and  the  other  to  turn  off,  and  return 
to  the  venerable  school  of  the  prophets. 

While  upon  this  subject  of  stages  and  starting- 
points,  there  are  yet  two  or  three  questions  to  be 
answered : 

First :  Why  speak  of  stages  in  the  Christian  life 
at  all.  Is  it  not  a  thing  of  gradual  growth,  like  the 
plant,  from  the  blade  to  the  full  corn  in  the  ear, 
and  of  steadily  unfolding  progress,  like  that  of  the 
light  from  the  first  grey  dawn  of  the  morning  twi 
light  onward  to  the  perfect  day,  rather  than  a  thing 
of  steps  and  stages  at  all  ? 

Here  again  is  another  mal-adjustment  of  ideas ; 
Not  now,  however,  the  yoking  together  of  two  ideas 
9 


194  THE   HIGHER   CHRISTIAN   LIFE. 

not  yoke -fellows  at  all,  the  one  true  and  the  other 
false,  and  so  of  condemning  the  true  with  false,  as 
the  young  man  in  the  cars  did,  but  the  separation 
of  two  ideas  both  alike  true,  and  true  yoke-fellows, 
and  pitting  them  one  over  against  the  other,  like 
David  and  Goliah  arrayed  in  mortal  combat. 

The  Christian  life  is,  indeed,  plant-like,  a  thing 
of  gradual  growth ;  but  then  it  is  also  none  the  less 
plant-like  as  a  thing  of  stages. 

Conviction  is  its  first  stage  and  starting  point. 
The  truth, like  the  seed  sown  by  the  husbandman,  may 
have  lain  long  buried  under  the  soil  of  youthful 
levity,  or  under  the  hard  crust  of  a  heart  often  re 
proved  ;  but  at  last,  when  the  rain  and  the  sunshine 
of  heaven  come  down  upon  it,  it  begins  to  feel  the 
power  of  a  divine  energy  within,  and  swells  and 
bursts  its  cerements  of  worldliness,  and  pushes  up 
ward,  feeling  after  the  light  of  heaven  until  it  comes 
forth  "  the  blade"  a  new  creature  born  of  God  into 
the  kingdom  of  light. 

Conversion  is  a  new  and  a  higher  starting  point, 
from  which  plant-like  the  Christian  life  unfolds, 
joint  after  joint,  leaf  after  leaf,  stretching  upward 
and  onward  for  fruitage  and  fulness  of  stature, 
until  at  last  it  gains  the  fruit-bearing  status  of  true 
Christian  manhood  and  majority  and  liberty,  and 
rejoices  in  that  stage  of  its  progress  marked  by  our 
Saviour  as  "  the  corn." 

Having  now  learned  the  way  to  live  by  faith,  it 


DAWN — SUNRISE  —  NOON.  195 

goes  on  ripening  its  fruit  for  the  golden  harvest,  and 
the  heavenly  garner  of  its  Lord,  and  becomes  in 
due  time  the  "  full  corn  in  the  ear,"  ready  for  the 
sickle  of  the  angel  reapers. 

Or,  taking  the  figure  of  the  light,  increasing  more 
and  more  to  the  perfect  day,  you  have  the  same  two 
ideas  of  gradual  growth,  and  yet  of  stages  of  pro 
gress,  harmoniously  and  beautifully  blended  and  ex 
pressed.  For  while  the  light  pours  in  upon  us,  in 
ever  increasing  flood,  through  the  opening  gates  of 
day,  from  the  first  rays  gladdening  night's  darkest 
hour  onward  until,  in  noontide  splendor,  the  day  is 
perfected.  Yet  is  there  not  first  the  dawn,  then 
the  sunrise,  and  finally  the  noon  of  the  perfect  day  ? 
Strange  that  an  argument  for  the  rejection  of  the 
idea  of  distinct  stages  in  the  Christian  life  should 
ever  have  sought  its  basis  in  these  comparisons, 
which  so  beautifully  and  clearly  express  and  illus 
trate  the  very  ideas  sought  to  be  condemned  by  the 
argument ! 

The  same  idea  is  also  given  by  the  apostle  Paul 
in  his  Epistle  to  the  Romans  i.  17.  "  For  therein 
(in  the  gospel)  the  righteousness  of  God  (to  all  and 
upon  all  that  believe,  Jew  and  Greek,)  is  revealed 
(made  manifest)  from  faith  unto  faith  (from  stage 
to  stage)  as  it  is  written  the  just  shall  live  by 
faith." 

And  how  vivid  the  living  comment  and  confirma 
tion  of  Luther's  actual  progress  by  stages  in  con 
nection  with  this  very  text !  • 


196  THE   HIGHER   CHRISTIAN   LIFE. 

Expressed  again  also  by  the  apostle  to  the  Corin 
thians,  second  Epistle,  iii.  18,  by  a  figure  which 
gives  the  true  philosophy  of  the  whole  glorious  mys 
tery  of  our  sanctification  or  transformation  into  the 
image  of  God  by  a  single  dash  of  the  pen.  "  But 
we  all  with  open  face  beholding  as  in  a  glass  the 
glory  of  the  Lord  are  changed  into  the  same  image 
from  glory  to  glory,  as  by  the  Spirit  of  the  Lord." 
That  is  the  Holy  Spirit  as  promised  by  our  Lord  to 
his  disciples  —  takes  of  the  relations  of  Christ  to  us, 
and  unfolds  them  before  us,  while  we  behold  his 
glory,  and  his  glorious  fitness  exactly  to  meet  each 
want  of  our  souls,  as  in  turn  one  after  the  other 
they  unfold  and  press  upon  us,  whether  of  justifica 
tion  from  the  law,  or  of  sanctification  to  God,  or  of 
glorification  in  his  presence  above  ;  and  thus  we  are 
changed  by  the  view  of  Christ  into  his  image  from  glo 
ry  to  glory.  The  same  thing  is  expressed  also  by  the 
apostle  in  another  form  in  first  Cor.  i.  30,  where 
the  various  relations  of  Christ  are  unfolded  in  order 
to  us  as  they  do  actually  open  out  in  experience,  to 
meet  our  unfolding  wants  from  stage  to  stage. 
"  Made  of  God  unto  us  WISDOM,"  that  is  conviction 
of  folly  and  sin,  conviction,  as  Jesus  himself  says, 
because  they  believe  not  on  me.  The  fear  of  God 
which,  according  to  King  Solomon,  is  the  beginning 
of  wisdom  —  RIGHTEOUSNESS  —  that  is,  justification 
from  sin  — SANCTIFICATION  —  that  is  transformation 
into  the  likeness  of  God  —  and  REDEMPTION  that  is 


THE  GREAT  PROPHET'S  METHOD.       197 

transfiguration  from  the  earthly  image  of  the  Lord 
to  the  glorious  image  he  bears  now  in  heaven,  and 
translation  to  heaven. 

The  answer,  therefore,  to  the  question,  "  Why 
speak  of  the  Christian  life  as  a  thing  of  stages  at 
all  ?  is  first  of  all  because  it  is  so,  and  so  to  speak 
of  it  is  to  speak  truth. 

But  this  is  not  all.  There  is  another  reason  im 
pelling  it,  because  it  is  a  fire  in  the  bones  —  it  must 
out. 

And  another  and  a  better  one  still,  because  it  is 
the  way  of  all  ways  to  arrest  attention,  and  induce 
men  to  press  for  the  experimental  apprehension  of 
that  which  is  set  before  them. 

The  preaching  of  John  the  Baptist  had  this  strik 
ing  feature,  that  it  was  distinct  and  clear  above  all 
who  had  gone  before  him,  and  therefore  his  success 
was  greater,  insomuch  that  the  Saviour  said  that 
amongst  those  born  into  the  world  a  greater  had  not 
arisen  than  John.  His  trumpet  had  the  clarion 
ring  of  an  Elijah  in  its  power.  And  it  had  also  the 
clear  ring  of  an  apostle  almost  in  the  definiteness 
with  which  he  presented  the  one  stage  of  experi 
ence,  "  metenoye  "  change  of  heart. 

The  force  of  John's  preaching  is  in  some  measure 
hidden  to  us  by  the  translation  of  the  word  metenoye 
as  repentance,  whereas  its  full  meaning  is  new  birth 
or  change  of  heart.  But  as  we,  in  imagination, 
bend  the  ear  and  listen  to  the  prophet  on  the  banks 


198  THE   HIGHER   CHRISTIAN  LIFE. 

of  the  Jordan,  proclaiming  to  the  gathering  crowd 
coming  from  far  and  near,  the  baptism  of  repent 
ance,  the  need  of  a  change  of  heart  to  escape  the  dam 
nation  of  hell,  we  might  almost  imagine  it  to  be 
Whitefield  on  Bristol  common,  reiterating  the  Sav 
iour's  words,  "Except  ye  shall  be  born  again,  ye  can 
not  see  the  kingdom  of  God,"  and  urging  his  message 
by  depicting  the  wrath  to  come.  It  was  just  this 
vivid  apprehension  of  the  truth,  and  this  definite 
presentation  of  it,  which  gave  both  the  Judean  and 
the  Anglican  prophets  such  power  and  success. 

The  success  of  the  apostles  in  winning  men  to 
the  higher  experience  —  the  baptism  of  the  Holy 
Ghost  —  first  received  by  themselves,  and  then  defi 
nitely*  proclaimed  by  them  to  others,  as  the  privilege 
of  all  who  would  believe  on  the  Lord  Jesus,  was 
due  also,  in  great  measure,  to  the  definite  vividness, 
with  which  they  set  this  stage  of  the  Christian  life 
before  men  as  an  object  of  desire  and  attainment. 

There  are  those  who  seek  to  muffle  the  arrows  of 
truth,  lest  their  naked  points  should  pierce  the  heart 
and  hurt  the  feelings,  but  arrows  must  be  sharp  in 
the  hearts  of  the  king's  enemies,  or  they  will  not 
fall  under  them. 

It  is  the  lack  of  a  definite  experience,  first,  in  our 
own  hearts  of  the  fact  and  truth  that  Christ  is  made 
of  God  unto  us  sanctification,  and  then  the  conse 
quent  lack  of  a  clear  and  vivid  presentation  of  it  to 
others,  as  an  experience  within  sure  and  easy  reach 


DO  ALL  PASS  THROUGH  THE  SAME  ?     199 

of  all  who  will  make  it  a  point,  and  urge  their  way 
to  it  which,  more  than  everything  else  —  love  of  the 
world  not  excepted  —  keeps  the  church  back  from 
receiving  and  living  in  the  fullness  of  the  blessings 
of  the  gospel  of  peace. 

The  second  question  is  this  :  Admitting  that  the 
Christian  life  is  one  of  stages,  do  all  Christians  pass 
through  the  same  —  the  same  in  number  and 
variety  ? 

The  answer  is  both  yes  and  no.  Yes,  if  the  ques 
tion  embraces  only  such  stages  as  are  essential  to 
salvation.  No,  if  it  relates  to  such  as  have  their 
occasions  in  the  peculiar  circumstances  of  individual 
life. 

A  glance  must  satisfy  every  disciple  of  Christ, 
that  in  the  case  of  every  sinner  saved,  unless  filled 
with  the  Holy  Ghost  from  his  mother's  womb  like 
John  the  Baptist,  there  must  be  a  period  of  convic 
tion  —  a  time  when  he  is  convinced  of  sin  —  else  he 
never  could  repent  and  be  saved. 

And  also  the  period  of  conversion  ;  the  moment 
when  he  does  repent  of  sin,  forsake  the  world,  and 
become  the  Lord's;  else  he  never  would  be  the 
Lord's. 

And  a  time  likewise  when  he  comes  to  the  percep 
tion  and  reception,  of  the  fact  that  Jesus  will  cleanse 
him  from  all  sin,  and  fit  him  for  heaven  ;  else  he 
never  will  be  fitted  for  heaven,  for  Jesus  alone  can 
fit  him,  and  faith  alone  is  the  condition  upon  which 
he  does  it. 


200  THE   HIGHER   CHRISTIAN   LIFE. 

These  several  periods  may,  or  may  not  be  marked 
at  the  moments  of  their  occurrence,  and  may  or 
may  not  be  remembered  afterwards.  They  may  be 
very  unequal  in  the  intervals  between  —  sometimes 
all  crowded  into  a  moment,  as  in  the  case  of  the 
thief  on  the  cross.  Sometimes  the  period  of  convic 
tion  may  last  a  life-time  almost,  and  the  subsequent 
stages  all  be  passed  through  in  an  hour,  as  in  the 
case  of  the  brother  of  George  Whitefield,  who  after 
long  years  of  gloomy  forebodings,  at  last,  while  at 
the  table  of  Lady  Huntingdon,  caught  from  her  lips 
the  words  that  Jesus  came  to  seek  and  save  that 
which  was  lost,  and  in  these  words  received  Jesus  by 
faith  —  and  next  morning  was  dead  —  already 
washed  white  and  made  pure  in  the  blood  of  the 
Lamb,  and  presented  faultless  by  the  hand  of  him 
whom  he  had  so  lately  received  as  the  seeker  and 
Saviour  of  the  lost.  Sometimes  the  interval  after 
the  conviction  may  be  only  a  moment  before  conver 
sion,  but  a  whole  lifetime  may  be  spent  after  conver 
sion  before  learning  that  faith  is  the  victory  that 
overcometh ;  and  at  last,  after  terrible  struggles  and 
fears,  like  those  of  that  wonderful  man,  Dr.  Payson, 
he  may  in  the  evening  hour  of  life  learn  the  great  se 
cret  of  the  gospel  as  the  way  of  salvation  from  sin, 
and  have  a  peaceful  —  yea,  a  gorgeous  sunset  of  it. 

So,  also,  these  several  periods  may  each  be  separ 
ated  from  every  other,  and  from  everything  else,  so 
as  to  be  clearly  and  distinctly  described  as  stages  of 


LIGHT  IN  THE   CABIN.  201 

experience,  or  they  may  be  so  associated  with  other 
and  peculiar  circumstances  of   individual  life  as  to 
be  regarded  by  themselves  and  others,  as  special 
incidents  of  their  own  peculiar  lot  in  the  world. 
As  for  example,  the  case  of 

A     NEW     ENGLAND     LADY     IN     THE     WEST. 

Before  becoming  the  bride  of  the  man  of  her 
choice,  she  had  espoused  the  bridegroom  of  the 
church.  Indeed,  in  giving  to  him  her  heart  with 
her  hand,  she  gave  him  clearly  to  understand  that  it 
was  a  heart  in  which  Jesus  was  enthroned.  This  he 
liked  well  —  for  he  too  had  settled  the  great  ques 
tion  of  life  first  of  all,  long  before  becoming  en 
grossed  with  the  questions  and  cares  of  a  settlement 
in  the  world. 

So  as  they  journeyed  westward  through  the  — 
then  dense  forests  of  the  new  country,  they  had  the 
company  of  him  who  had  proclaimed  himself  to  Ja 
cob  at  Bethel,  and  promised  him  never  to  leave  him 
or  forsake  him  until  he  should  have  done  all  that  he 
had  told  him  of.  And  when  they  threw  up  their 
log  cabin,  in  the  unbroken  wilderness,  and  kindled 
their  first  fire  on  the  hearth,  and  prepared  their  first 
repast  in  their  new  forest  home,  and  sat  down  for 
the  first  time  to  their  table  spread  in  the  wilderness 
for  them,  the  cheerful  blaze  in  the  heart  toward  God 
was  brighter  than  the  fire  on  the  hearth,  and  they 
had  meat  to  eat  which  was  unseen  on  the  table  — 


202  THE  HIGHER  CHRISTIAN  LIFE. 

their  cabin  and  table,  and  all  like  themselves  to  each 
other  were  regarded  as  God's  gifts,  and  held  by 
them  as  God's  stewards. 

But  days  of  darkness  came.  Children  were  born 
to  them  and  given  to  the  Lord  from  their  birth  — 
but  it  was  hard  for  them,  the  mother  especially,  to 
lay  them  in  the  grave.  The  death  of  their  first  born, 
with  its  mutiplied  sorrows,  and  the  long  weary  watch- 
ings  induced  a  low  long  running  fever  from  which, 
after  many  months,  she  recovered,  but  always  bore 
the  marks  of  it  in  two  ways :  first,  in  a  weakened 
body  weighed  down  with  infirmity,  and  second,  in  a 
strengthened  heart  borne  up  by  a  trust  and  a  peace 
never  felt  before. 

Her  murmurings  and  rebellions  in  the  days  of  her 
trial  had  brought  up  to  the  surface  all  the  deep  sed 
iment  of  sin,  and  startled  her  at  the  sight  of  her 
self,  and  her  sickness  had  called  up  the  judgment  as 
at  hand,  and  her  own  heart  had  condemned  her  as 
unfit  and  unready  to  meet  the  welcome  of  her 
Judge.  She  was  afraid  to  die,  but  her  struggles  to 
prepare  were  as  vain  as  any  attempt  could  have  been 
to  remove  mountains,  until  at  last  in  sheer  despair, 
she  cast  the  whole  care  of  her  sins  —  the  cure  of 
her  sins  —  as  well  as  their  pardon,  upon  Christ  and 
was  at  peace.  While  at  the  same  time  she  cast  all 
her  cares  for  her  own  health  and  the  safety  of  her 
husband  and  children,  and  indeed  every  thing  else 
on  the  Lord :  and  when  at  last  she  rose  from  that 


SPECIAL    CIRCUMSTANCES.  203 

weary  but  blessed  bed,  she  was  changed  to  herself 
and  to  every  body  else.  Calm  and  peaceful,  placid 
and  happy. 

But  then  it  was  so  connected  in  her  own  mind, 
and  the  mind  of  others  with  the  death  of  her  child 
and  her  own  illness,  that  it  was  always  spoken  of  as 
a  special  result  of  the  Lord's  special  chastenings 
upon  her  —  altogether  a  special  thing  —  while  in 
fact,  hidden  under  the  special  circumstances  of  her 
case,  there  was  the  experimental  apprehension  of  the 
way  of  salvation  from  sin  by  faith  in  the  Lord  Jesus, 
which  was  the  hidden  spring  of  the  great  change  in 
her  feelings,  and  the  open  fountain  of  her  peace  and 
good  fruits  abounding  in  all  after  life. 

And  this  brings  us  to  the  second  answer  —  No. 
No,  to  the  question,  Do  all  Christians  pass  through 
the  same  stages  of  experience,  when  the  question 
embraces  such  stages  as  are  peculiar  to  the  special 
mission  or  circumstances  of  particular  individuals. 

While  there  are  general  features  of  likeness 
amongst  all,  each  one  has  his  own  special  mission 
in  the  world,  and  his  own  special  occasions  with 
God. 

Not  every  one  like  Abraham  is  called  upon  to 
pack  up  all  —  strike  tent  and  away  for  a  strange 
land,  the  very  name  and  boundaries  of  which  he 
knows  nothing  at  all. 

Not  every  one  like  Abraham  is  called  upon  to  lay 


204  THE   HIGHER   CHRISTIAN   LIFE. 

an  Isaac  upon  the  altar  and  lift  the  knife  to  slay 
him,  and  then  to  hear  the  angel  voice  that  com 
mands  him  to  stay  his  hand,  for  God  had  prepared 
himself  a  Lamb.  Why  ?  Because  not  every  one  is 
called  to  become  the  father  of  nations  like  Abraham, 
and  the  father  of  the  faithful. 

These  experiences  of  the  patriarch  are  peculiar 
to  himself,  because  peculiar  to  his  mission.  And 
yet  Abraham  at  some  time  and  in  some  way,  had  to 
pass  through  the  period  of  conviction,  and  after 
wards  learn  the  way  of  pardon  by  faith,  and  also  of 
purification  in  the  same  way ;  all  the  same  as  any  of 
the  multitudes  who  call  him  father. 

Oftentimes,  doubtless,  there  is  in  the  wise  provi 
dence  of  God  a  combination  of  that  which  is  general 
with  that  which  is  peculiar,  as  in  the  case  of  the 
Lady  in  the  West.  The  Bethel  scene  in  the  life  of 
Jacob  is  an  instance  of  this  kind,  His  peculiar  dis 
tress  in  leaving  his  home  and  losing  the  heirship  of 
his  father's  wealth,  sold  to  him  by  Esau  in  the  birth 
right  for  a  mess  of  pottage,  but  wrested  from  him 
again  by  threatened  violence,  together  with  his  fears 
for  his  own  safety  in  the  long  lone  wilderness  jour 
ney  before  him,  and  his  own  sins  rising  up  in  accu 
sation  against  him  and  bringing  with  them  dread  of 
God's  wrath,  caused  him  to  cry  unto  God  in  the 
bitter  anguish  of  despair,  as  he  was  about  to  pillow 
his  head  on  the  stone  and  stretch  his  weary  limbs  on 
the  ground  for  the  night.  And  this  made  occasion 


MUST  ALL   EXPERIENCE  IT  ?  205 

for  God  to  manifest  himself  to  him,  and  unfold  to 
him  his  purposes  tovvards  him,  and  his  loving  care 
and  kindness  over  him.  And  this  in  turn  called 
forth  the  vow  of  service  from  Jacob,  and  filled  his 
heart  with  a  joyous  faith  in  the  Lord. 

Under  all  these  specialities  there  was,  all  enfolded 
in  their  drapery,  the  one  great  generality  —  the 
youthful  patriarch's  conversion  to  God. 

He  went  forth  from  Bethel  a  new  creature,  born 
not  of  man  nor  of  the  will  of  the  flesh,  but  of  God. 

The  third  and  last  question  relating  to  this  topic 
of  stages  and  starting  points,  is  this  :  Must  all  who 
are  saved,  then  pass  through  the  stage  of  experience 
called  for  convenience  second  conversion  ? 

The  answer  here  again  is  both  yes  and  no.  No, 
if  by  the  question  it  is  intended  to  ask  whether 
every  one  or  any  one  must  have  a  time  of  deep 
anxiety  and  violent  struggling,  like  many  whose 
experiences  have  been  sketched  in  these  pages,  fol 
lowed  by  a  moment  when  light  breaks  in,  and  joy 
springs  up,  and  peace  overflows,  and  doubt  and 
darkness  all  flee  away. 

Any  particular  kind  of  experience  is  nowhere  in 
the  Bible  made  a  pre-requisite  of  salvation.  He  who 
really  and  truly  believes  in  the  Lord  Jesus,  will  be 
saved  whether  he  has  any  experience  at  all  to  relate 
or  not. 

Like  the  record  of  the  patriarch  ISAAC'S  LIFE, 
there  may  be  a  life  laid  on  the  altar  of  God,  by 


206  THE   HIGHER   CHRISTIAN  LIFE. 

parental  faith  in  infancy,  followed  in  due  time  by  a 
faith  in  the  child,  like  the  little  boy  prophet  Samuel's, 
as  bright  as  an  Abraham's  and  yet  too  early  in  its 
beginnings,  and  too  steady  in  its  unfoldings  to  be 
marked  by  memory  or  recounted  in  its  stages  ;  a  life 
which  life-long,  is  a  living  sacrifice  to  God,  unceas 
ingly  sending  up  the  smoke  of  its  incense  from  the 
glowing  fire  in  the  heart,  kindled  and  fanned  and 
fed  by  the  Holy  One  of  Israel,  and  yet  with  no  par 
ticular  Damascus  Road,  or  Bethel  scene  to  mark  it 
from  first  to  last.  And  who  will  say  that  such  a  life 
is  any  less  the  living  epistle  of  God,  or  any  the  less 
the  sure  precursor  of  heaven,  than  the  life  of  vicis 
situdes  and  vascillations,  marked  by  a  Bethel,  a 
Mahanaim,  a  Jabbok  and  a  Shechem,  like  the  pa 
triarch  Jacob's  ? 

But  then,  on  the  other  hand,  if  the  questioner 
means  to  ask  whether  it  is  necessary  for  all  to  come 
to  the  point  of  trusting  in  the  Lord  for  purity  of 
heart  to  be  prepared  for  heaven,  the  answer  is  yes. 
For  there  is  no  other  way  under  heaven  to  be  puri 
fied  but  by  faith  in  the  Lord.  And  none  but  the 
pure  in  heart  shall  see  God  in  peace. 

This  may  be  learned  sooner  or  later  in  life,  and 
with  or  without  a  distinct  period  of  struggling, 
followed  by  the  joys  of  knowing  the  glorious  truth  ; 
but  it  is  a  point  that  must  be  gained,  or  heaven 
must  be  lost. 

Millions  have  lived  life-long  in  ignorance  of  it, 


A   HAPPY    PEOPLE.  207 

trembling  often  and  often  at  the  thought  of  death 
and  of  their  own  unfitriess  for  heaven.  And  at  last, 
in  the  very  last  days,  or  hours,  or  moments,  or  sec 
onds  of  life,  the  glorious  fact  that  Jesus  would 
purify  them  and  present  them  whiter  than  snow  in 
his  own  spotless  robes  has  been  revealed  to  them, 
and  all  their  doubts  and  fears  have  been  swallowed 
up  in  the  triumphs  of  faith. 

GOVERNOR     DUNCAN, 

Of  Illinois,  is  an  illustration  of  this. 

For  many  years  the  Governor  was  distinguished 
as  a  Christian  —  a  consistent  member  of  his  church. 
A  rare  and  a  shining  mark,  both  for  the  jests  of  un 
godly  politicians,  and  for  the  happy  references  of  all 
lovers  of  Jesus. 

It  is  a  very  lovely  thing,  and  only  too  remarkable 
to  see  one  occupying  the  highest  position  of  honor  in 
a  State,  himself  honoring  the  King  of  kings.  Hap 
py  is  the  people  who  exalt  such  a  ruler,  to  the  places 
of  power,  and  happy  such  a  ruler,  in  his  exaltation, 
more,  however,  in  the  humility  with  which  he  bows  to 
Jesus,  than  in  the  homage  which  the  people  pay  to  him. 

His  conversion  was  clear  and  satisfactory,  and  he 
renounced  all  merit  of  his  own  as  the  ground  of 
his  acceptance  with  God.  The  blood  of  Jesus,  the 
Lamb  of  Calvary,  was  all  his  hope.  He  was  firmly 
grounded  in  the  atonement  of  Christ.  And  all 
went  well  until  death  and  the  judgment  drew  near. 


208  THE   HIGHER   CHRISTIAN   LIFE. 

About  three  weeks  before  the  hour  of  his  depar 
ture,  he  was  seized  with  an  illness  which  he  himself 
felt  would  end  in  his  death.  And  with  the  pre 
monition  of  death  came  the  question  of  fitness 
for  heaven.  He  was  troubled.  His  unfitncss  was 
only  too  apparent  for  his  peace.  The  fever  of  his 
mind  was  higher  than  the  fever  in  his  veins  —  and, 
alas  he  had  not  yet  learned  that  Jesus  is  the  physi 
cian  of  unfailing  skill,  to  cure  every  ill  that  the 
spirit  is  heir  to.  He  saw  plainly  enough  how  he 
could  be  justified  from  the  law  that  it  should  not 
condemn  him ;  for  its  penalty  had  been  borne 
already  by  the  Saviour  himself ;  and  its  claims  on 
the  score  of  justice  were  all  satisfied.  But  he  did 
not  see  that  the  same  hands  which  had  been  nailed 
to  the  cross  would  also  break  off  the  manacles  of 
sin,  wash  out  its  stains  and  adjust  the  spotless  robe 
of  Christ's  perfect  righteousness  upon  him,  and 
invest  him  with  every  heavenly  grace. 

His  perplexity  was  great.  The  night  thickened 
upon  him,  his  soul  was  in  agony,  and  his  struggles 
utterly  vain. 

The  point  of  despair  is  sure  to  be  reached,  sooner 
or  later,  by  the  struggling  soul,  and  the  point  of 
despair  to  him  who  abandons  all  to  Jesus  is  also  the 
point  of  hope.  The  Governor  at  last  gave  over  and 
gave  up,  saying  in  his  heart,  "  Ah !  Well.  I  see  it 
is  of  no  use.  Die  I  must.  Fit  myself  for  heaven  I 
cannot.  0,  Lord  Jesus  I  must  throw  myself  upon 
thy  mercy,  and  die  as  I  am." 


DRINKS  FROM  THE  ROCK.          209 

This  hopeless  abandonment  was  the  beginning  of 
rest  to  his  soul.  Indeed,  it  was  the  victory  that 
overcometh.  Soon  the  loveliness  of  Jesus  began  to 
be  unfolded  to  him,  and  he  saw  that  the  way  of  sal 
vation  from  sin  was  by  faith  in  the  Saviour.  The 
fire  in  his  veins  burned  on,  steadily  and  surely- con 
suming  the  vital  forces  of  his  manly  frame,  but  the 
fever  of  his  spirit  was  all  allayed  by  the  copious  and 
cooling  draughts  given  him  from  the  gushing  foun 
tain  of  the  waters  of  life  flowing  from  the  smitten 
Rock,  and  his  joy  was  unbounded. 

As  his  stricken  and  sorrowing  family  gathered 
around  his  bed  for  the  last  words  of  the  noble  man, 
he  told  them  with  a  face  radiant  with  joy,  that  he 
had  just  found  what  was  worth  more  to  him  than 
riches,  or  honors,  or  office,  or  anything  else  upon 
earth.  "  The  way  of  salvation  by  faith  in  the  Lord 
Jesus  Christ,"  and  he  charged  them  as  his  dying 
mandate,  by  the  love  they  bore  him,  not  to  rest 
until  they  too  —  whether  already  Christians  as  he 
himself  long  had  been,  or  not,  had  also  found  the 
same  blessed  treasure. 

They  asked  him  what  legacy  he  wished  to  leave 
for  an  absent  relative,  whom  they  knew  it  was  his 
intention  to  have  remembered  in  the  division  of  his 
estate. 

"  That  is  all  arranged  in  my  will,"  said  he.  "  But 
tell  her  from  me  that  I  have  found  the  way  of  salva 
tion  by  faith  in  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  and  if  she  too 


210  THE   HIGHER  CHRISTIAN    LIFE. 

will  find  that,  she  will  find  infinitely  more  than  I 
could  bestow  upon  her,  if  I  should  give  her  all  I 
am  worth  in  the  world." 

They  mentioned  the  name  of  a  distinguished 
fellow  officer  and  special  friend  of  the  governor's, 
living  in  a  distant  part  of  the  State,  and  asked  if  he 
had  any  message  for  him. 

"  Tell  him  that  I  have  found  the  way  of  salvation 
by  faith  in  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  and  if  he  will  also 
find  it  for  himself  it  will  be  better  than  the  highest 
offices  and  honors  in  the  reach  of  man  upon  earth." 

So  he  died,  "  0,  had  he  only  known  this  before." 
you  say.  Yes,  that  was  just  what  he  himself  said. 
"  0,  had  I  only  known  this  when  I  first  engaged  in 
the  service  of  God,  how  happy  I  should  have  been ! 
And  how  much  good  I  could  have  done  !  " 

How  like  the  dying  regret  of  Dr.  Payson.  Liken 
ing  himself  in  the  fulness  of  his  bliss,  as  the  chariot 
of  fire  which  should  bear  him  to  heaven  drew  near, 
to  a  mote  floating  in  the  sunshine  of  infinite  love, 
he  exclaimed,  "  0  had  I  only  known  what  I  now 
know  twenty  years  ago !  " 

And  this  might  answer  still  another  question 
should  it  be  asked  as  it  often  has  been,  viz. 

How  does  it  fare  with  all  those  professors  of  re 
ligion  who  live  on  to  the  end  of  their  days  without 
the  experimental  knowledge  of  the  way  of  sanctifi- 
cation  by  faith  ? 


TWENTY    YEARS    EARLIER.  211 

Badly,  of  course,  if  they  are  mere  professors,  and 
not  truly  converted,  as  it  is  to  be  feared  too  many 
are.  For  they  have  not  been  justified,  and  therefore 
they  cannot  be  either  sanctified  or  glorified,  but 
will  be  banished  from  the  presence  of  God  and  the 
glory  of  his  power  forever,  and  covered  with  shame 
and  everlasting  contempt. 

But,  if  really  converted,  then  the  way  of  sanctifi- 
cation  by  faith  in  Jesus  will  be  made  plain  in  the 
evening  of  their  earthly  course,  as  in  the  case  of 
Payson  and  Duncan,  for  if  it  is  so  with  the  leaders 
of  God's  host,  will  it  not  be  also  with  the  rank  and 
file? 

But  0  how  much  better  it  had  been  !  How  much 
better  would  it  be  in  the  morning  of  life !  How 
much  it  would  save  !  How  much  it  would  bless  the 
world  if  it  should  be  twenty  years  earlier  ! 


CHAPTER   II. 


TIMES    AND    SEASONS. 

TIMELINESS  marks  all  the  works  and  ways  of  God. 

Truth  has  its  seasons  and  the  kingdom  of  God  has 
its  periods. 

The  kingdom  of  heaven,  says  our  Saviour,  is  as  a 
grain  of  mustard  seed,  the  least  of  all  seeds,  but 
when  it  is  grown  it  is  one  of  the  greatest  of  plants, 
tree-like,  in  which  the  birds  of  the  air  may  rest 
themselves  and  build  nests  for  their  young. 

At  the  right  time  the  seed  of  the  kingdom  is  ri 
pened  and  dropped  into  the  earth,  along  the  banks  of 
the  river  of  the  waters  of  Life.  And  the  sown-seed 
knows  the  spring-time,  and  snuffs  the  sunshine  and 
ehowers  :  bursting  its  prison  shell,  it  sends  down  its 
roots  for  moisture  and  strength,  and  sends  up  its 
stem  for  light  and  air ;  and  comes  out  in  spring 
freshness  and  beauty.  It  has  also  its  summer  time 
when  it  ripens  is  fruits,  and  its  autumn  for  filling 
the  garners. 

This   is   true  of   every   child  of  God  —  of  every 
212 


GREAT  PERIODS  AND  GREAT  TRUTHS.     213 

church  of  Christ  upon  earth,  and  of  the  whole 
church  militant  collectively  taken.  Revivals  may 
have  been  a  novelty  in  the  days  of  Enos,  when  men 
first  began  socially  to  call  on  the  name  of  the  Lord ; 
but  from  that  day  to  this  they  have  been  the  law  of 
the  Kingdom.  Times  of  refreshing  from  the  pres 
ence  of  the  Lord  may  have  taken  Abel  by  surprise, 
at  that  first  altar  of  God  at  the  east  gate  of  Eden, 
as  they  evidently  did  take  Cain  by  surprise,  making 
him  gnash  his  teeth  upon  Abel  as  the  murderers  of 
all  martyrs  have  done.  But  they  were  understood 
to  be  the  order  of  God's  economy  in  the  days  of  the 
apostles,  and  indeed  in  every  age  of  the  world. 

Great  periods  have  been  marked  by  great  revi 
vals,  and  great  revivals  have  been  characterized  by 
the  developments,  each  one  of  some  one  great  truth 
made  prominent  and  powerful,  in  its  application 
to  the  experience  and  life  of  the  church. 

The  great  truths  which  now  have  their  unchange 
able  position  in  the  faith  and  formulas  of  the  church, 
have  been  born  into  the  world  one  by  one,  and  one 
by  one  have  taken  their  positions  in  orderly  array 
in  the  great  family  of  truths.  Like  children  they 
have  come  crying  into  the  world,  and  like  warriors 
in  battle,  each  has  had  its  own  way  to  fight.  Like 
Damascus  blades,  each  has  been  tried  and  tempered 
in  the  fire  and  under  the  hammer  of  controversy, 
and  like  the  martyr  throng  above,  they  have  all 
come  up  to  their  permanent  place  in  the  bright 


214  THE   HIGHER   CHRISTIAN   LIFE. 

galaxy  of  truth  through  much  tribulation,  with 
their  robes  made  white  in  the  blood  of  the  slain. 

The  great  foundation  truth  —  the  unity  of  God 
the  alpha  of  all  theological  science  and  of  all  saving 
knowledge,  had  its  battle  of  ages  with  polytheistic 
idolatry,  but  has  finally  driven  its  enemy  into  the 
dark  corners  of  the  world,  and  if  appearances  may 
be  trusted,  will  soon  drive  it  out  of  the  world  alto 
gether.  And  the  great  top-stone  of  truth,  the 
head  of  the  corner,  the  trinity  of  God,  is  yet  in  its 
conflict,  and  is  yet  to  be  more  clearly  understood  — 
though  already  it  has  battled  its  way  to  its  place  in 
the  faith  and  holds  it  in  triumph  against  the  assaults 
of  every  enemy,  while  shoutings  of  Grace  !  Grace ! 
unto  it  go  up  from  all  true  believers. 

It  would  be  a  work  to  enlarge  the  largest  heart, 
and  expand  the  most  liberal  mind,  if  it  were  done 
as  it  deserves,  to  sketch  truthfully  and  graphically 
the  biography  of  each  one  of  the  great  evangelical 
truths  comprising  the  faith.  Each  one  has  a  life 
and  times  of  its  own,  and  in  comparison  the  lives 
and  times  of  men  —  even  the  greatest  of  men  — 
would  dwindle  into  insignificance.  Indeed  the  his 
torical  prominence  of  the  great  men  of  the  church 
from  Abel  and  Enoch  down  to  Whitefield  and  Wes 
ley  and  Edwards,  comes  from  the  fact  of  their 
being  each  one  the  representative  —  the  embodi 
ment  —  the  incarnation,  of  some  one  great  truth  of 
revealed  religion,  in  some  stage  of  its  development, 


REPRESENTATIVE    MEN.  215 

just,  as  Newton  and  Copernicus  were  the  represent 
atives  of  astronomical  principles. 

Revelation  had  its  stages  —  two  great  ones  —  the 
old  and  the  new,  with  many  minor  ones  marking 
them  both  ;  though  in  the  new  the  various  stages 
were  crowded  into  the  time  of  a  single  generation, 
whilst  in  the  old  many  generations  sometimes  inter 
vened. 

Then  when  revelation  was  completed,  and  given 
complete  to  the  world,  no  more  to  be  added,  nor 
anything  subtracted,  upon  pain  of  God's  curse, 
even  then,  since  that,  the  development  and  applica 
tion  of  the  several  truths  revealed,  has  been  also  by 
stages.  Each  in  its  own  time  and  each  in  its  own 
way. 

The  question  may  have  arisen  already — and  if 
not  there  is  no  reason  to  shrink  from  raising  it  now 
—  why  —  if  it  is  true  that  the  experimental  appre 
hension  of  the  principle  of  sanctification  by  faith  is 
the  privilege  of  all  —  why  has  the  fact  not  had 
greater  prominence  in  -the  past  ?  Why  have  eigh 
teen  centuries  been  allowed  to  roll  away  before  it  is 
brought  distinctly  and  prominently  before  the  mind 
of  the  church  ? 

The  answer  is,  that  until  now  the  time  has  never 
come  for  it.  Now  is  the  time.  That  it  is  no  new 
thing,  practically,  is  clear.  Abel  doubtless  under 
stood  it  practically,  at  least,  and  was  made  strong 
for  martyrdom  by  it.  Enoch  lived  in  it,  and  was 


216  THE   HIGHER   CHRISTIAN   LIFE. 

translated,  taken  bodily  to  heaven  without  death  by 
it.  Noah  built  his  ark,  in  the  faith  of  it,  and  out 
rode  the  flood  by  it ;  and  Abraham  in  the  power  of 
it  forsook  the  home  of  his  birth  and  dwelt  amongst 
strangers,  and  waited  patiently  for  the  fulfilment  of 
God's  promise,  —  and  then  himself,  at  the  com 
mand  of  God,  was  in  act  to  put  the  knife  to  the 
throat  of  Isaac,  the  son  of  promise,  counting  God 
able  to  raise  him  again  from  the  dead.  Prophets,  and 
apostles,  and  reformers,  and  the  great  and  good  of 
every  age  have  exemplified  it.  It  is  nothing  new. 
And  yet,  until  now,  the  time  has  never  fully  come  to 
give  it  the  prominence  which  now  it  is  destined  to 
take  and  to  hold  in  the  future  history  and  progress 
of  the  Kingdom  of  God  in  the  world. 

It  is  now  only  three  hundred  years  since  the  Bible 
itself  was  exhumed  from  its  burial  places  in  con 
vent  cells  and  library  alcoves,  and  freed  from  its 
cerements  of  the  dead  languages,  torn  from  it  by  the 
hand  of  the  reformers,  and  put  in  its  dress  of  living 
speech,  and  sent  forth  upon  its  great  mission  to  the 
world. 

And  it  is  only  one  hundred  years  since  the  great 
truth  of  the  new  birth,  as  a  distinct  experience,  the 
privilege  of  all,  began  to  receive  its  full  power  of 
application  to  the  heart  and  life  of  the  church. 
And  yet  both  were  just  at  the  opportune  moment. 

It  is  beautiful  to  mark  the  times  and  occasions  of 
truth  in  its  connection  with  the  orderly  march  of 


THE  RIGHT  MOMENT.  217 

events,  as  in  single  file,  with  solemn  tread,  they 
come  forward  at  the  command  of  the  Lord. 

The  translation  of  Enoch  was  just  at  the  time 
when  the  heavens  had  become  over-cast  with  dark 
clouds  of  unbelief,  and  a  window  in  heaven  was 
needed  that  man  might  see  it,  and  not  forget  that 
there  is  a  heaven  above. 

The  flood  came  just  when  the  fear  of  God  had 
died  out,  and  violence  had  run  riot  filling  the  earth ; 
just  in  time  to  let  all  after  generations  know  that 
there  is  a  God  of  justice  and  judgment  ruling  over 
ally  who  does  not  shrink  from  wrapping  a  world  in 
its  own  winding-sheet,  regardless  of  its  agonizing 
shrieks  of  despair,  if  the  cry  of  its  guilt  and  the  call 
of  justice  demand  it. 

The  overthrow  of  Babel  and  the  confusion  of 
tongues,  was  just  at  that  moment  when  the  pride  of 
man  and  his  desire  to  cast  off  fear  and  restrain 
prayer  had  concentrated  and  culminated  in  the 
great  city  and  tower,  which  were  to  be  at  once  both 
the  glory  and  the  safety,  and  the  bond  of  union  of 
the  whole  human  race.  The  plan  of  the  mighty  hun 
ter  and  hero  and  builder,  Nimrod,  was  laid  and  almost 
completed.  With  every  successive  course  of  bricks 
upon  the  tower,  the  pride  of  the  people  and  their 
feeling  of  security  rose,  and  the  bond  of  their 
union  was  strengthened,  and  the  fear  of  God  weak 
ened.  Dependence  upon  God  had  ceased.  They 
were  now  no  more  afraid  to  give  loose  reins  to 


218  THE   HIGHER   CHRISTIAN  LIFE. 

luxury  and  ease.  Yice  and  crime  could  live  and 
fatten  and  run  riot  in  fancied  security. 

Just  then  it  was  that  God  overthrew  their  city  and 
tower,  confounded  their  speech,  broke  up  their  con 
federacy,  and  scattered  them  over  the  earth,  hopeless 
of  ever  being  united  again.  A  timely  lesson  to  the 
whole  world  that  there  is  no  tower  of  safety  but  God 
alone,  and  no  abiding  city,  save  the  city  of  God,  and 
no  glorying  except  in  the  Lord,  which  will  not  be  put 
to  shame,  and  no  union  that  can  stand  except  the 
union  of  the  one  faith  by  the  one  baptism,  under  the 
one  Lord,  in  the  one  family  of  our  Father  in  heaven. 

The  call  of  Abraham  was  just  at  the  moment  when 
idolatry  was  fairly  beginning  to  rise  and  make  head 
in  the  world,  and  when,  therefore,  it  was  needful  to 
make  head  against  it.  Destined  to  take  to  itself  the 
splendor  of  king's  courts,  and  the  power  of  the  na 
tions,  entrenching  itself  strongly  in  the  passions  and 
vices  of  the  people,  and  fortifying  itself  in  their  per 
verted  religious  propensities,  it  was  needful  to  sep 
arate  a  nation  from  all  the  world  to  receive  the 
oracles  of  God  and  preserve  his  worship  and  become 
the  nursing  mother  of  the  gospel  for  the  whole 
world.  Just  then  it  was  that  Abraham  was  called 
and  commissioned  to  become  the  father  of  the  one 
nation,  and  the  father  of  all  who  should  believe  in 
the  true  God,  that  to  them  as  to  him  it  might  be 
reckoned  for  righteousness. 

The  exode,  four  hundred  and  thirty  years  after, 


MOSES  —  THE    KINGDOM  —  THE  CAPTIVITY.      219 

with  its  great  battle  in  the  court  of  Pharaoh,  between 
idolatry  —  now  installed  in  its  pomp  and  pride  and 
power  —  and  the  faith  of  the  one  God,  followed  by 
the  overthrow  in  the  Red  Sea,  and  the  triumph  of 
truth,  was  again  just  in  time  to  teach  the  world  that 
idols,  with  all  the  lying  wonders  the  father  of  lies 
can  work  to  sustain  them,  are  nothing  but  vanity 
and  lies. 

And  the  laws  and  institutes  given  from  Sinai  with 
the  worship  of  God  —  established  and  perfected  in 
all  its  prophetic  types  and  imposing  power  —  were 
just  in  time  to  give  form  and  front  to  the  cause  of 
Jehovah  before  an  idolatrous  world,  as  well  as  to 
hold  the  people  themselves  and  prepare  the  way  for 
the  Messiah  who  should  fulfil  the  types,  and  give 
substance  to  the  shadows,  and  become  the  atoning 
high  priest  and  the  deliverer  of  his  people  both  from 
their  guilt  and  from  their  sins. 

The  change  from  a  commonwealth  to  a  kingdom, 
with  its  rapid  rise  in  power  and  opulence,  and  glory 
under  Saul  and  David  and  Solomon,  with  the  build 
ing  of  the  temple,  was  all  just  in  time  again,  when  the 
elements  of  strength  had  all  been  accumulated,  to 
combine  them,  and  give  imposing  form  and  power 
to  the  religion  of  Jehovah  in  the  eyes  of  the  world. 

And  the  captivity,  in  Babylon.  When  Babylon 
itself  was  a  combination  of  the  whole  world  into  a 
single  empire,  was  just  at  that  opportune  moment 
when  the  Jews  themselves  needed  to  be  humbled  in 
the  dust  for  their  overweening  pride  and  shameful 


220  THE    HIGHER   CHRISTIAN   LIFE. 

idolatry,  and  when  at  the  same  time  through  them, 
in  their  humility,  God  could  teach  the  world  through 
His  servants  in  the  court,  and  their  influence  upon 
the  king,  the  worship  of  Jehovah  as  the  one  only 
true  God,  just  in  time  for  the  second  greatest  battle 
and  victory  of  the  true  God  over  idols. 

The  coming  of  Christ  is  happily  marked  by  the 
apostle  as  just  then  when  the  fulness  of  time  had 
come.  When  the  Jewish  dispensation  was  waxing 
old  and  ready  to  pass  away,  and  when  the  Greek  was 
the  written  language  of  the  world,  and  the  Roman 
power  the  governing  power  of  the  world,  and  when 
the  world  was  all  connected  in  the  one  empire  of 
Rome,  and  all  open  *to  the  apostles  and  primitive 
Christians  to  go  with  the  gospel  to  every  creature, 
and  when  idolatry  in  all  the  civilized  world  was  in 
its  dotage,  the  bye-word  and  laughing  stock  of  the 
learned.  When,  in  short,  there  was  an  open  field 
for  a  fair  contest,  such  as  there  never  had  been  before. 

The  advent  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  when  Pentecost 
had  fully  come,  was  just  when  the  time  for  it  had 
fully  come,  also. 

Just  when  the  great  work  of  atonement  had  been 
finished,  the  resurrection  accomplished,  and  the  risen 
Saviour  had  ascended  to  the  right  hand  of  power. 
Just  when  a  demonstration  of  his  power  as  the  living 
and  almighty  Saviour  was  needed  to  revive  the 
drooping  disciples  and  convince  a  gainsaying  world. 
And  just  when  the  disciples  themselves  needed  that 


LIGHT  IN   DARKNESS. 


very  baptism  of  light  and  love,  and  peace  and  power 
to  inspire  them  with  wisdom  and  boldness  and 
strength  for  their  great  commission  of  giving  the 
gospel  to  the  world. 

The  breaking  down  of  the  Jewish  walls  of  preju 
dice  by  Peter's  vision  and  Haul's  commission,  to 
gether  with  the  conversion  first  of  Cornelius  and  his 
friends,  and  afterwards  of  the  Gentiles  at  Antioch, 
and  the  proceedings  of  the  apostles  and  elders  in 
consequence,  was  just  in  time  to  open  the  way  and 
set  the  gospel  free  to  fly  abroad,  run  and  conquer, 
and  win  the  day. 

The  Reformation,  passing  by  the  events  of  four 
teen  hundred  years  —  each  as  timely  as  any  before  or 
after  —  the  Reformation  came  again  just  when  all 
things  were  ready.  The  corruptions  of  Rome  had 
gone  so  far  that  all  good  men  everywhere  longed  for 
reform.  And  the  darkness  had  become  so  great  as 
to  be  felt,  and  felt,  too,  in  all  its  oppressive  power, 
so  as  to  create  a  deep  and  earnest  desire  for  the  light 
of  God's  word.  The  church  was  in  the  condition  of 
one  in  a  cavern,  or  in  the  catacombs,  in  whose  hand 
the  light  has  gradually  sunk,  until  at  last  it  has 
flickered  and  flared,  and  expired.  When,  then,  he 
has  wandered  on,  blundering  and  stumbling  in  the 
dark,  until  at  last  he  has  become  afraid  to  take 
another  step  without  a  light.  Just  as  such  an  one 
would  hail  the  light  with  unspeakable  joy,  just  so 
the  people  of  that  day  were  prepared  to  hail  the 


222  THE  HIGHER   CHRISTIAN  LIFE. 

light  of  the  Bible.  0,  what  joy  it  gave  them,  when 
it  came  forth ;  now  no  longer  speaking  in  an  un 
known  tongue,  but  in  every  man's  own  language, 
wherein  he  was  born.  Germans  and  Brittons  ;  Hoi 
landers  and  French  ;  Italians  and  Spaniards  ;  Hunga 
rians  and  Bavarians  ;  Normans,  Danes,  Swedes,  and 
all. 

Then,  too,  it  should  not  be  forgotten  that  this  was 
just  at  the  time  when  the  newly  discovered  art  of 
printing  had  prepared  the  way  to  give  wings  to  the 
word  of  God,  like  the  angel  of  the  Apocalypse  flying, 
mid-heaven  for  its  mission,  to  the  nations  of  the 
world,  as  never  could  have  been  done  before. 

The  Great  Awakening,  two  hundred  years  later, 
now  one  hundred  years  ago,  was  just  in  tune  to  ar 
rest  the  lapsing  church  in  its  downward  course,  and 
give  it  a  great  impulse  upward  and  onward  in  prepa 
ration  for  what  has  come  since,  and  what  is  now 
coming,  and  what  is  yet  to  coma  in  the  future.  To 
the  great  central  doctrine  of  justification  by  faith  re 
vived  before  in  the  Reformation,  the  fact  of  the  new 
birth,  as  an  experience  for  all,  was  now  added  to  the 
faith  of  the  church  in  the  great  awakening.  And 
this  just  at  the  moment  when  the  churches  of  Ameri 
ca  were  in  the  plastic  state,  ready  to  take  the  White- 
fieldian  and  Wesleyan  and  Edwardean  type,  as  older 
churches  in  older  lands  were  slow  to  do.  And  at  the 
moment,  too,  when  India  fell  under  British  rule,  to 
be  opened  to  Christianity  in  due  time. 


GATHERING  EVENTS.  223 

And  now  in  the  intervening  hundred  years,  0  how 
great  events  have  thickened.  The  old  slow  march 
seems  to  have  hastened  into  double  quick  time,  and 
the  single  file  to  have  formed  up  into  the  order  of 
platoons.  The  Missionary  Era,  commencing  fifty 
years  ago,  just  when  simultaneously  Bibles  began  to 
multiply  through  the  multiplying  power  of  Bible  soci 
eties,  and  missionaries  began  to  rise  up,  to  go  out 
into  all  the  world,  and  the  church  began  to  combine 
to  send  them,  and  the  nations  began  to  throw  open 
their  doors  to  receive  them,  and  commerce  began  to 
spread  its  wings  anew  to  take  them,  and  steam  power 
began  to  develop  the  superiority  of  Christian  nations 
in  all  the  arts  of  life,  and  stimulate  commerce  to 
carry  Christian  fabrics  into  all  heathen  nations.  Just 
then  a  new  life  began  in  the  church,  under  the  un 
folding  power  of  the  great  commission,  which  for 
ages  had  been  allowed  to  sleep,  but  now  was  pro 
claimed  from  every  pulpit  and  by  every  Christian 
press  of  Christendom. 

As  years  roll  on  the  natural  sciences  unfold  and 
lead  even  skeptical  minds  to  abandon  atheism  and 
pantheism  and  come  upon  the  platform  of  revelation. 
All  machinery  is  improved.  Railroads  are  invented. 
Ships  are  enlarged,  and  steam  is  harnessed  in  to  be 
our  servant  of  all  works  on  sea  and  land.  Electricity 
is  drilled  also  into  service,  and  a  network  of  veins  and 
arteries  is  created,  producing  a  grand  system  of 
thought  circulation,  fast  binding  the  nations  together 


224  THE   HIGHER   CHRISTIAN  LIFE. 

into  one,  or  at  least  bringing  them  face  to  face  within 
speaking  distance  of  each  other.  The  printing  press 
is  increased  by  a  thousand  fold  in  its  productive  power, 
and  the  gold  fields  of  California,  Australia,  and  the 
north  open  up  their  treasures,  and  pour  a  golden 
current  into  the  commercial  arteries  of  the  world. 
And  just  now,  in  the  midst  of  all  this,  God  comes 
down  in  the  power  of  His  spirit  and  arouses  the 
young  men  and  the  business  men,  the  laymen  and  the 
laywomen,  as  well  as  office  bearers  in  the  church,  to 
meet  and  pray  and  work  for  the  Master,  and  such  a 
revival  begins  as  the  world  has  never  witnessed  be 
fore.  Hope  rises  up  and  begins  to  stretch  forward 
to  the  great  battle  and  final  triumph.  And  what 
nov  is  needed?  What  now  would  be  the  timely 
work  ?  and  what  now  the  timely  truth  ?  There  is 
now  more  than  ever  needed  two  things.  First,  the 
millenial  type  of  Christian  character  and  life. 

Second,  the  spiritual  strength  and  endurance  to 
carry  the  church  onward  and  upward  unswervingly 
to  and  through  the  conflict  and  triumph  before  us. 
And  these  two  are  one,  and  this  one  is  the  experi 
ence  of  full  salvation  through  full  trust  in  the  Lord 
Jesus  Christ. 


CHAPTEK  III. 


THE  PRESENT  AND  THE  FUTURE. 

THE  present  is  ever  the  stepping-stone  of  the 
future.  Each  stage  of  progress  is  the  bud  of  the 
next.  Conviction  prepares  the  way  for  conversion  ; 
conversion  leads  to  sanctification  ;  sanctification  cul 
minates  in  glory  ;  and  glory  begun  is  the  entrance 
upon  an  endless  career  of  progress  in  wisdom  and 
knowledge,  beneficence  and  bliss. 

In  the  history  of  the  kingdom,  the  dread  of  wrath 
and  death  induced  by  the  flood,  prepared  the  wty 
for  the  law  ;  the  law  was  the  school-master  to  drill 
the  world  into  readiness  for  the  gospel ;  the  coming 
of  Christ  and  his  death  laid  the  foundations  for  the 
temple  to  be  reared  by  the  Holy  Spirit,  and  he  is 
now  erecting  the  temple,  stone  by  stone,  course  upon 
course,  story  above  story,  in  preparation  for  the  mil 
lennium  and  the  kingdom  of  glory. 

The  present  —  the  now  present,  would  seem  to 
be  a  round  in  the  heavenward-stretching  ladder 
near  to  the  top.  One  step  more,  or  two  at  most, 


226  THE  HIGHER  CHEISTIAN  LIFE. 

so  it  seems  at  least  to  us  poor  short-sighted  mortals, 
and  the  summit  will  be  gained. 

What,  then,  are  the  now  unfolding  germs  prepar 
ing  the  way  for  the  incoming  period  ? 

Three  things  may  be  confidently  predicted  of 
the  church  of  the  future—  its  UNITY,  ACTIVITY 
and  SPIRITUALITY. 

In  the  prayer  of  Jesus  with  his  disciples  on  the 
night  of  his  betrayal,  the  unity  of  his  followers  v^as 
coupled  with  the  spread  of  the  knowledge  that 
Jesus  is  the  Messiah  of  God  as  its  cause,  "  That 
they  all  may  be  one"  prayed  the  Saviour,  "  that  the 
world  may  know  that  thou  hast  sent  me." 

One !  Yes ;  the  disciples  of  Christ  are  yet  in  the 
future,  sometime,  sooner  or  later,  to  become  com 
pletely  united,  and  then  the  world  will  know  that 
he  is  the  Messiah  of  God. 

This  prayer  of  Jesus  is  to  have  its  happy  fulfil, 
ment — When?  When,  if  not  in  the  period  next 
approaching,  and  now  at  the  doors  ? 

What  is  the  watchword  of  the  present  ?  Union. 
Fifty  years  ago  now,  it  may  be  more  or  less,  God 
began  the  visible  preparations  for  the  fulfilment  of 
this  prayer.  First  in  England.  The  missionary 
spirit  was  poured  into  the  heart  of  an  obscure  cob- 
ler  upon  his  bench,  and  as  he  cut  the  leather  into 
shape,  and  pounded  it  upon  his  lapstone  into  solidi 
ty,  and  drew  the  waxed  ends  stitching  together 
shoes  for  his  customers,  he  was  cutting  out,  com- 


MISSIONS  —  WORLD'S  ALLIANCE.  227 

pacting,  and  stitching  together  thoughts,  which  were 
destined  to  shoe  the  feet  of  thousands  upon  thou 
sands  with  the  preparation  of  the  gospel  of  peace 
to  go  to  the  outer  bounds  of  the  earth  with  the  glad 
tidings  of  a  crucified  Saviour. 

His  discourse  delivered  —  the  question  was  raised 
—  "Who  will  go?  and  whom  shall  we  send?" 
His  feet  were  all  shod  ready  for  the  journey,  and 
his  ready  answer  was,  "  Send  a  better  man  if  you 
can  —  if  not,  here  I  am,  send  me." 

This  settled  —  next  came  the  question,  How? 
And  the  practical  answer  was,  combine,  associate. 
So  they  combined ;  a  little  neuclus,  enough  to  send 
out  and  sustain  their  man. 

And  this  was  the  first  of  the  many  nuclei  in  that 
land  and  in  others  around  which  Christians  have 
rallied  until  now  what  do  we  behold  ?  Scores,  it 
may  be,  of  huge  corporations,  gathering  money  by 
millions,  and  sending  out  and  sustaining  missiona 
ries  by  thousands  upon  thousands,  at  home  and 
abroad,  amongst  the  people  of  every  kindred  and 
tongue  almost  in  the  world  ! 

The  missionary  fathers  combined,  like  the  early 
settlers  in  a  new  country,  in  their  house  "  raisings  " 
and  "  bees,"  upon  the  principle  that  ten  men  can 
lift  a  log  into  place  in  the  cabin's  side  which  one 
could  not  stir  from  the  ground  —  and  upon  the 
maxim  that  "  many  hands  make  light  work." 

The  movers  in  the  World's  Protestant    Alliance 


228  THE   HIGHER   CHRISTIAN  LIFE. 

had  other,  and  in  some  respects,  higher  motives  for 
union.  They  desired  to  bring  the  ends  of  Protestant 
ism  together,  and  in  some  sort  cement  all  into  one,  in 
somuch,  at  least,  as  to  be  able  to  present  to  themselves 
and  to  their  enemies,  and  to  the  world,  the  imposing 
spectacle  of  a  single  front,  and  the  invincible 
strength  of  an  undivided  line  of  battle. 

But  it  is  only  now  that  the  highest  and  noblest 
movements  have  begun,  in  fulfilment  of  the  prayer 
for  unity.  Young  Christianity  is  moved  to  lay 
aside  the  grey  prejudices  of  sect,  and  throw  off  the 
dead  weight  of  formality.  Associations  are  formed 
for  the  purpose  of  counteracting  the  increasing  cor 
ruptions  of  our  cities  in  their  influence,  especially 
upon  the  young  men  drawn  from  the  country,  into 
these  great  centres  of  activity  and  attraction.  God 
pours  out  his  spirit  upon  these  associations,  and 
united  young  Christianity  becomes  suddenly  convert 
ed  into  a  society,  not  simply  to  make  a  fair  show 
before  the  world  of  the  unity  of  the  church  of 
Christ,  nor  yet  to  send  into  all  the  world  to  preach 
the  gospel,  but  actually  to  go  —  every  man  becom 
ing  himself  a  missionary.  Union  meetings  are 
started  in  places  and  numerical  attendance  to  startle 
the  world,  and  increased  in  numbers  to  reach  the 
masses  in  every  locality.  Circles  are  broken  in 
upon  by  the  evangelizing  influence,  which  have  ever 
been  regarded  as  close  corporations  in  the  interest 
and  under  the  sole  control  of  Satan  himself,  and 


OBJECTS  OF  UNION.  229 

yoices  are  heard  in  praise  and  prayer  which  have 
been  wont  to  make  the  night  and  the  Sabbath  hid 
eous  with  their  yells  in  the  street.  And  holy  hands 
are  lifted  to  God,  and  raised  also  for  hearty  blows  in 
the  cause  of  the  Prince  of  Peace,  raised  before 
never  in  this  way,  but  often  in  theatres,  in  brawls 
and  fights,  and  in  pugilistic  contests. 

The  missionary  fathers  combined  to  send  a  few 
thousands  to  set  up  the  standard  of  the  cross,  and 
begin  the  war  in  every  land.  The  Alliance  movers 
combined  to  show  and  to  feel  the  full  strength  of 
the  embattled  host,  not  at  all  for  actual  contest,  but 
in  a  sort  of  world's  review  from  year  to  year.  But 
now  the  embattled  host  is  combining,  for  the  con 
test  and  the  conquest. 

Like  the  "  Old  Thirteen,"  in  the  days  of  Ameri 
can  colonial  dependence,  the  churches  have  all  along 
known  and  felt  their  unity,  (in  the  one  Lord,  and 
the  one  faith,  and  one  baptism,  of  Christ,)  and 
have  often  combined  for  some  special  practical  pur 
pose,  or  for  some  sort  of  colonial  congress  to  declare 
unity  in  words  and  present  the  show  of  united 
resistance  to  our  enemies  —  but  it  is  only  now  that 
every  man  is  harnessing  for  the  war,  and  taking 
his  position,  side  by  side  with  every  other  man, 
irrespective  of  denominational  distinctions. 

And  although  we  are  far  yet  from  the  fulfilment 
of  the  Saviour's  prayer,  still  we  were  never  before 
so  near,  never  before  surrounded  by  so  many  tokens 


230  THE  HIGHER  CHRISTIAN  LIFE. 

and  preparations  for  its  fulfilment  as  now.  The  un 
folding  bud  is  plainly  the  bud  of  complete  unity  — 
it  cannot  be  mistaken.  This  unity,  is  to  be  a  unity 
in  Christ,  and  so  it  will  manifest  Christ.  The  disciples 
are  to  see  face  to  face,  because  they  will  all  see  the  face 
of  God  in  Christ  and  become  like  him,  and  so  become 
like  each  other.  Changed  from  glory  to  glory  into  his 
image,  and  so  changed  also  from  degree  to  degree  into 
likeness,  and  love  too,  to  each  other,  and  so  showing 
forth  the  image  of  Christ  which  they  have  taken. 

There  is  a  unity  in  Christianity  which  has 
never  been  realised  in  the  church,  though  typified 
by  the  nucleus  of  early  converts  in  the  dawn, 
when  bathed  and  baptized  in  the  first  rising 
beams  of  the  Sun  of  Righteousness  ascended, "  they 
were  of  one  heart,  and  one  soul :  neither  said  any 
that  aught  of  the  things  he  possessed  was  his  own ; 
but  they  had  all  things  common."  "  Then  they 
continued  daily  with  one  accord  in  the  temple,  and 
breaking  bread  from  house  to  house,  did  eat  their  meat 
with  gladness  and  singleness  of  heart,  praising  God 
and  having  favor  with  all  the  people,  and  the  Lord 
added  unto  them  daily  such  as  should  be  saved. "* 

There  has-been,  and  is  yet,  great  discordance  in 
the  varied  songs  of  the  many  churches  —  but  there 
is  to  be  a  universal  harmony  —  nay  a  universal 
unity  in  the  one  song  of  Moses  and  the  Lamb,  each 
church  bearing  its  own  part  in  the  general  concert, 
and  then  all  earth  and  heaven  shall  hear. 

*Acts  iv :  32,  and  ii.  46,  47. 


DIVERSITY  IN   UNITY.  231 

Each  tone  on  the  musical  scale  is  composed  of 
three — three  in  one — one  in  three.  And  it  may 
be  there  is  one  tone  —  known  or  unknown,  —  itself 
three  in  one,  which  is  the  union  of  all,  —  the  grand 
focal  starting  point  and  centre  of  all. 

The  primitive  rays  of  the  sun  are  white,  but  each 
say  is  in  itself  a  combination  of  three  —  three  in, 
one,  one  in  three.  And  this  one  ray  —  white  as  it 
touches  first  the  sphere  of  earth's  vestment  of  air,  is 
separated  by  the  vapory  prism  into  every  hue  and 
shade,  clothing  the  globe  in  its  beauteous  coat  of 
clouds  of  many  colors,  and  carpeting  it  with  green 
and  gold,  pink  and  purple,  and  every  other  lovely 
color  and  tint,  in  every  form  of  grace  and  sweet 
ness.  God  is  light.  The  rays  of  the  Sun  of 
Righteousness  are  light,  light  ineffable,  light  alone. 
But  they  bring  embosomed  in  themselves  to  him 
who  receives  Jesus,  the  Triune  God.  And  they 
work  out  as  they  fall  upon  human  hearts  and  human 
minds,  all  the  separated  shades  and  varied  combina 
tions,  of  grace  and  truth  —  one  and  yet  many. 

On  the  face  of  the  cloud  in  the  retiring  storm  the 
bow  springs  forth  —  the  bow  of  promise  —  seven 
beauteous  colors  are  numbered  in  the  exquisite 
arch.  The  seven  make  one  arch.  And  the  whole 
seven  spring  from  one  —  the  one  white  ray  of  the 
sun  separated  into  seven,  and  bent  together  into  the 
symbol  of  harmony  and  of  hope. 

Christ  is  the  one.     The   churches  are  the  seven. 


232  THE   HIGHER   CHRISTIAN   LIFE. 

And  the  one  in  the  seven,  is  Christ  in  the  heart  the 
hope  of  glory. 

Already  the  bow  of  harmony  and  of  hope,  as  we 
have  seen,  is  springing  forth,  upon  the  face  of  the 
retiring  darkness  and  strife  of  the  past.  The  day 
of  unity  is  at  hand. 

Activity  is  equally,  also,  both  the  demand  of  the 
future  and  the  promise  unfolding  in  the  present  to 
meet  this  demand. 

The  church  of  the  future  is  to  be  a  living  church. 
Every  member  a  living  member — every  one  doing 
his  duty. 

Too  much,  in  all  the  past,  since  the  first  and  glo 
rious  days  of  the  apostles,  went  by  ;  the  church  has 
been  a  sort  of  hospital  or  asylum,  where  its  members 
have  been  gathered  in  to  be  cared  for  and  nursed — 
provided  for  and  dosed,  or  taught,  like  the  infirm, 
the  deaf  and  dumb  and  the  blind ;  and  ministers  and 
officers  of  the  church  have  been  engrossed  in  their 
cares  of  the  various  inmates  of  the  churches. 

But  now  it  is  to  be  hoped  the  church  is  becoming 
more  like  a  force  of  able-bodied  industrials,  ready  for 
employment  in  the  Master's  vineyard,  under  the 
guidance  of  ministers  and  officers.  Helpers  together 
with  God,  not  cumberers  of  his  ground.  Certainly 
there  never  has  been  a  time,  since  the  apostolic  age, 
when  the  opportunities  were  so  general  or  so  gener 
ally  accepted  and  used  by  all  Christians,  especially 
the  young,  to  engage  in  the  active  spread  of  the  gos- 


THE  THREEFOLD  PROMISE.         233 

pel  amongst  the  perishing  myriads  around.  And 
there  never  was  a  time  when  so  many  had  the  bold 
ness  to  "  stand  up  for  Jesus  "  as  witnesses  before 
great  assemblies,  or  go  out  for  Jesus  into  the  hard 
places,  and  to  the  hard  cases  of  the  world.  Activity 
— increasing  activity — growing  steadily  toward  uni 
versality,  is  certainly  one  of  the  unfolding  promises 
of  the  present. 

Spirituality,  also.  If  we  look  to  see  its  increase  in 
the  increase  of  the  three  abiding  graces — faith,  hope 
and  charity — and  of  the  four  cardinal  virtues — 
prayers,  gifts,  words  and  works  for  Jesus — more  beau 
tiful  in  their  blended  symmetry  than  the  seven  colors 
of  the  bow  in  the  cloud,  we  shall  not  fail  of  a  certain 
promise  and  prophecy  of  a  bright  day  at  hand 
When  has  there  ever  been  so  much,  or  so  fervent,  ot 
so  simple  praying,  or  so  great  faith  of  the  answers 
to  prayer,  or  so  much  life  and  power  in  the  religious 
meetings,  or  so  much  wayside  conversation  about 
the  works  and  ways  of  God  ? 

Not  now,  however,  to  dwell  upon  this.  Looking 
rather  to  the  bow  of  promise,  arching  the  heavens, 
as  the  gateway  of  the  future.  What  are  the  three 
words  traced  by  the  finger  of  Providence  along  the 
front  of  this  royal  arch  ?  What  but  the  triune 
promise,  unity,  activity  and  spirituality  ? 

And  now  to  ask  and  answer  again  more  at  large 
the  question  asked  and  answered  in  the  conclusion 
of  the  preceding  chapter.  What  do  we  now  need 


234  THE   HIGHER    CHRISTIAN   LIFE. 

to  swell  and  unfold  this  triune  promise  into  the 
universality  and  strength  required  for  its  own  happy 
fulfilment  ? 

Simply  the  prevalence  of  a  full  experimental  union 
with  Jesus  by  a  full  trust  in  his  name. 

Our  union  of  the  future  is  not  to  be  one  merely  of 
convenience  or  interest,  or  necessity,  to  accomplish 
the  work  given  us  to  do  ;  but  the  union  of  heart  and 
soul,  vital  as  the  union  of  the  several  members  of 
one's  own  body.  And  our  activity  is  not  to  be  that 
of  excitements  and  occasions,  or  of  the  pressure  of 
duty  merely,  but  the  increased  activity  which  comes 
from  increased  vitality.  Life  within  —  life  more 
abundant  —  must  be  the  sustaining  power  and  cen 
tral  spring  of  the  increased  life  without.  And  our 
spirituality  will  be  made  full  by  the  full  indwelling 
presence  and  power  of  the  Spirit  of  God. 

We  need,  therefore,  to  turn  attention  increasingly 
to  the  higher  form  of  Christian  experience.  Not  by 
any  means  to  lose  sight  of  conversion,  but  rather  to 
press  it  more  urgently  than  ever  upon  the  attention 
of  the  world  ;  but  not  as  the  all  in  all  —  not  as  the 
stopping  place  of  the  Christian,  or  as  introducing 
the  convert  into  all  the  fulness  of  the  blessings  of 
the  gospel  of  peace. 

Suppose  Luther  had  been  content  to  rest  where 
he  was  when  he  first  found  the  forgiveness  of  his 
sins  in  the  convent  at  Erfurth,  and  had  not  pressed 
on  until  he  found  also  the  way  of  full  justificaiion, 


STOPPING   SHORT.  285 

including  sanctification  from  sin.  What  would 
have  been  the  result  ? 

Simply  that  he  might  have  remained  a  monk, 
after  all,  to  the  end  of  his  days,  and  the  Reforma 
tion  untouched  by  him  to  the  last.  It  was  the  final, 
full  experience  of  the  way  of  salvation  by  faith,  into 
which  the  Lord  introduced  him  on  Pilate's  stair 
case  at  Rome,  and  not  his  conversion  at  Erfurth, 
merely,  that  made  him  the  reformer  he  was.  And 
D'Aubigne.  Suppose  he,  too,  had  never  passed 
beyond  the  first  great  stage  of  his  experience,  but 
remained  to-  the  end  where  he  was  during  the  years 
after  his  conversion  at  Geneva,  and  before  his  second 
conversion  at  the  inn-room  in  Kiel ;  where  now  had 
been  his  great  work,  the  History  of  the  Reforma 
tion,  and  other  like  works,  bearing  the  stamp  of  his 
faith  as  well  as  the  stamp  of  his  genius  ?  Unwrit 
ten,  unwritten;  every  word  of  them  unwritten. 

Two  books,*  of  very  great  value  and  of  deservedly 
wide  circulation  —  may  their  circulation  be  a  hun 
dred  fold  greater  —  have  been  recently  given  to  the 
public.  In  both,  the  experience  of  Luther  is  profess 
edly  given,  and  truly  as  far  as  they  go.  And  in  one, 
also,  that  of  D'Aubigne.  But  in  each  instance  the 
narrative  stops  short  with  conversion,  leaving  in 
each  the  after  and  deeper  experience  untold,  without 


*Narratives  of  Remarkable  Conversions,  Conant.  Derby  & 
Jackson,  N.  Y.  The  Divine  Life,  Kennedy.  Parry  &  McMil 
lan,  Philadelphia ;  Presbyterian  Board. 


236  THE   HIGHER    CHRISTIAN   LIFE. 

so  much  as  an  allusion,  even.  The  after  and  deeper 
experience,  without  which  neither  the  one  or  the 
other  would  have  been  qualified  by  the  iaith  of  Jesus 
in  its  fulness,  or  the  light  of  the  gospel  in  its  power, 
for  the  work  and  the  mission  so  happily  and  so  nobly 
fulfilled  by  them. 

The  same  thing  is  true,  also,  of  Baxter  and  Hew- 
itson  and  others  whose  conversions  are  narrated  in 
the  two  volumes  referred  to,  but  Luther  and 
D'Aubigne  are  singled  out  because  both  of  their  ex 
alted  position  in  the  regards  of  the  church,  of  every 
name  in  every  land,  and  also,  and  especially,  of  the 
ample  distinctness  of  their  own  narrations  of  their 
own  experiences,  in  the  second  great  stage  as  well  as 
the  first ;  and  because  also  of  the  illustration,  pecu 
liarly  impressive,  in  their  cases,  that  the  second  ex 
perience  is  the  indispensable  requisite  of  power  to 
glorify  God  in  the  highest  degree,  by  witnessing  for 
Jesus  in  the  fullest,  freest,  boldest,  clearest  manner. 

This  omission  is  very  significant.  One  of  the  straws 
showing  the  drift  of  the  popular  current.  It  indi 
cates  a  great  historical  fact  and  phase  of  the  present, 
and  a  glorious  one  it  is  —  only  less  glorious  than 
the  more  excellent  phase  of  the  future.  It  shows 
the  profound  absorption  of  the  mind  and  heart  of 
the  church  in  the  matter  of  conversion. 

But  then  does  it  not  also  show  the  almost  equally 
profound  forgetfulness  of  the  deeper  experience  ex 
emplified  by  these  great  and  good  men,  their  second 
conversion  ? 


BAPTISM  OP  FIRE.  287 

This  ought  not  so  to  be  —  must  not  be  so. 

The  key  note  of  pulpit  and  press  now  for  a  hun 
dred  years,  and  the  clarion  note  as  well  —  sounding 
out  so  loud  and  clear  as  to  rule  every  other  into 
the  harmonious  line  with  itself  on  the  theological 
staff — has  been  the  new  birth.  May  it  never  lose 
one  particle  of  its  clarion  clearness.  Rather  let  it 
be  sounded  out  a  thousand  fold  louder  and  clearer 
than  ever  until  it  shall  reach  every  ear,  and  every 
heart  in  the  world,  thrilling  them  with  its  heavenly 
power. 

But  then,  in  the  baptism  of  John,  are  we  to  forget 
the  baptism  of  Jesus  ?  In  the  new  birth  shall  we 
forget  the  deeper  power  of  Pentecost  ?  In  the  re 
generation  by  water  and  the  Spirit  shall  we  lose 
sight  of  the  deeper  regeneration  by  fire  and  the 
Spirit  ? 

The  new  birth  is  indeed  a  reality  and  a  blessed 
one,  an  experience  and  an  indispensable  one,  and 
may  it  be  urged  in  all  the  burning,  convincing  pow 
er  of  the  spirit  of  Elias.  So  also  is  the  baptism  of 
the  Holy  Ghost  a  reality  and  a  more  glorious  one. 
Let  it  be  also  urged  in  the  spirit  and  power  of  the 
apostles. 

The  disciples  of  Jesus  needed  and  received  the 
promise  of  the  Father  upon  them,  conferring  the 
power  to  be  effectual  witnesses  for  Jesus  in  the  in 
troduction  of  the  gospel  in  its  fulness  into  the 
world  ?  Do  we  not  need,  shall  we  not  receive  the 
same  blessed  promise  in  all  the  fulness  of  its  plena- 


238  THE   HIGHER  CHRISTIAN    LIFE. 

ry  power  —  the  miraculous  only  excepted  —  for  the 
struggle  of  its  final  victory  and  the  introduction  of 
its  glorious  fulfilment  in  the  world  ? 

But  a  case  so  plain  is  only  weakened  by  argu 
ments,  as  if  arguments  were  needed  to  establish  it, 
when,  in  fact,  it  is  self-evident  at  a  glance. 

One  illustration  of  the  power  and  blessedness  of 
full  salvation  may  suffice  to  close  this  chapter,  and 
this  part  of  our  discussion. 

A  better  might  be  looked  for  in  vain  than  the  fol 
lowing  parable  from  life,  of 

THE   JUDGE   AND   THE   POOR   AFRICAN   WOMAN. 

In  one  of  the  populous  and  beautiful  towns  on  the 
banks  of  "  La  Belle  Riviere,"  the  Ohio,  there  dwelt 
and  for  aught  I  know,  dwells  now  a  just  judge,  hon 
orable  in  life  as  well  as  in  title  ;  and  also  a  poor  lone 
African  woman,  long  since  gone  to  her  crown  and 
her  throne  in  the  kingdom  above.  She  was  queenly 
in  the  power  and  beauty  of  her  spiritual  progress, 
though  poor  as  poverty  could  make  her  in  this 
world's  goods  here  upon  earth,  but  she  is  now 
doubtless  queenly  in  position  and  external  adorning 
as  well  as  in  heart,  transformed  and  transfigured  in 
the  presence  of  the  glorious  Saviour  in  heaven, 
whom  she  loved  so  dearly  and  trusted  so  fully  upon 
earth. 

The  judge  was  rich  and  highly  esteemed.  He 
dwelt  in  a  mansion,  not  so  fine  as  to  repel,  not  so 
splendid  as  to  make  him  the  envy  of  the  foolish, 


THE   MANSION   AND  THE   CABIN.  239 

large  enough  to  be  the  social  centre  of  the  town, 
and  plain  enough  to  make  every  one  feel  it  a  home, 
and  his  heart  was  in  keeping  with  his  house,  large 
and  open. 

The  poor  African  woman  lived  in  a  cabin  on  an 
alley  all  alone  without  chick  or  child,  kith  or  kin. 

Her  own  hands  ministered  amply  to  her  own 
wants  while  she  had  health,  and  at  home  or  abroad 
at  work  by  the  day,  she  often  earned  that  which 
found  its  way  to  India,  or  Africa  perhaps,  in  the 
spread  of  the  gospel.  Her  home  though  poor  and 
small  was  always  neat  and  tidy.  She  belonged  to 
the  church  of  which  the  judge  was  an  officer,  and 
often  sat  down  with  him  at  the  table  of  the  Lord,  in 
the  house  of  the  Lord,  as  she  will  again,  0  how  joy 
ously  at  the  feast  of  the  Bridegroom  in  the  palace 
of  the  King,  but  it  so  happened  that  they  had  never 
had  free  conversation  together  about  the  things  of 
the  kingdom.  He  respected  her.  She  venerated 
him.  At  last  she  received  a  severe  injury,  from 
which  she  never  recovered,  and  for  many  weary 
months  before  her  death  was  dependent  and  help 
less,  alone  and  bed-rid. 

During  this  time  the  judge's  ample  table  and 
abundant  wardrobe  had  contributed  its  full  share 
to  the  comforts  of  the  poor  woman.  Never  a  day 
but  she  was  remembered.  But  for  a  long  time,  for 
one  reason  and  another,  he  put  off  from  time  to 
time  a  personal  visit  which  yet  he  fully  purposed  in 
his  heart  to  make  her.  Until  at  last  one  day  as  he 


240  THE   HIGHER   CHRISTIAN   LIFE. 

thought  of  the  cheeriness  of  his  own  pleasant  home, 
the  thought  of  the  contrast  between  this  and  the 
loneliness  and  desolation  of  the  poor  woman's  cabin, 
came  into  his  mind,  and  while  it  heightened  his 
gratitude  for  the  goodness  of  God  to  him,  it  filled 
him  with  sadness  and  sympathy  for  her. 

"  Who  can  tell  but  I  may  cheer  her  a  little,  and 
perhaps  by  a  little  timely  sympathy  save  her  from 
repining  at  her  hard  lot  ?  Possibly,  too,  I  may  be 
able  to  throw  some  light  upon  the  rugged  pathway 
along  which  she  is  going  to  the  kingdom  ?  " 

The  judge  loved  to  do  good ;  it  was  a  great  lux 
ury  to  him.  So,  taking  a  well  filled  basket,  and 
making  sure  that  purse  as  well  as  scrip  was  stored 
with  convenient  small  change,  he  sallied  forth  to 
visit  the  poor  woman. 

As  the  door  opened,  he  was  struck  with  the  air 
of  neatness  in  the  cabin.  If  she  was  bed-rid,  some 
kind  hand  supplied  the  place  of  her's.  Everything 
was  in  order,  swept  and  garnished  neat  as  a  pin. 
"  Not  so  desolate  after  all,"  thought  he. 

But  again,  as  the  judge  looked  around,  and  con 
trasted  the  social  joys  of  his  own  ample  mansion, 
where  the  voice  of  children  and  of  music,  as  well  as 
the  presence  of  books  and  friends  made  all  cheerful 
and  happy,  with  the  cheerless  solitude  of  the  poor 
woman  alone  here  from  morning  till  night  and  from 
night  till  moniing,  only  as  one  or  another  called  out 
of  kindness  to  keep  her  from  suffering,  his  heart 
filled  again  with  sadness  and  sympathy. 


GOOD   COMPANY.  241 

Seating  himself  on  the  stool  at  the  side  of  the 
poor  woman's  cot,  he  began  speaking  to  her  in 
words  of  condolence : 

"  It  must  be  hard  for  you,  Nancy,  to  be  shut  up 
here  alone  so  many  days  and  weeks  ? " 

"  0  no,  thank  God,  massa  judge,  the  Good  Lord 
keeps  me  from  feelin  bad.  I'se  happy  now  as  ever 
I  was  in  all  my  days." 

"  But,  Nancy,  laying  here  from  morning  till  night 
and  from  night  till  morning  all  alone,  and  racked 
with  pain,  dependent  upon  others  for  everything,  do 
you  not  get  tired  and  down-hearted,  and  think  your 
lot  a  hard  one  to  bear  ?  " 

"  Well,  i'se  'pendent  on  others,  dat's  sure,  'deed 
I  is,  an  I  was  allers  used  to  have  something  to  give 
to  de  poor,  an  to  de  missionary,  too,  an  to  de  minis 
ter,  but  den  I'se  no  poorer  dan  my  good  Lord  was 
when  he  was  here  in  de  worl,  and  I'se  nebber  suffer 
half  so  much  yet  as  he  suffer  for  me  on  de  cross. 
I'se  bery  happy  when  I  tink  of  dese  tings." 

"  But,  Nancy,  you  are  all  alone  here  ?  " 

"  Yes,  massa,  I'se  all  alone,  dat's  true,  but  den 
Jesus  is  here,  too,  all  de  time.  I'm  nebber  alone,  no 
how,  and  he's  good  company." 

."But,  Nancy,  how  do  you  feel  when  you  think 
about  death  ?  What  if  you  should  die  here  all 
alone  some  night  ?  " 

"  0,  massa  judge!  I  spect  to.  I  spect  nothing 
else  but  jes  to  go  off  all  alone  here  some  night,  as 


242  THE   HIGHER   CHRISTIAN   LIFE. 

you  say,  or  some  day.  But  it's  all  one,  night  or 
day,  to  poor  Nancy,  and  den,  massa,  I  spec  I'll  not 
go  all  alone  arter  all,  for  Jesus  says,  in  de  blessed 
Book,  I'll  come  an  take  you  to  myself  dat  where  I 
am  dare  you  may  be  also,  an  I  believe  him.  I'se 
not  afraid  to  die  alone." 

"  But,  Nancy,  sometimes  when  /think  of  dying,  J 
am  filled  with  trouble.  I  think  how  bad  I  am, 
what  a  sinner,  and  how  unfit  for  heaven,  and  I  think 
now  what  if  I  should  die  suddenly  just  as  I  am, 
what  would  become  of  me  ?  Are  you  not  afraid  to 
die  and  go  into  the  presence  of  a  holy  God  ?  " 

"  0  no,  massa  'deed  I'se  not." 

"  Why  not,  Nancy  ?  " 

"0,  massa,  I  was  'fraid,  berry  much.  When  I 
was  fust  injer,  I  see  I  mus  die,  an  I  thought  how 
can  such  a  sinner  as  I  is  ebber  go  into  such  a  holy 
place  as  de  new  Jerusalem  is  ?  An  I  was  miseble, 
0, 1  was  miseble,  deed,  sure  !  But  den  by  an  by, 
after  a  while,  I  jis  thought  I  mus  trus  myself  to  de 
blessed  Jesus  to  make  me  ready  for  de  kingdom  jis 
as  I  did  to  forgib  all  my  sins.  An  so  I  foun  res  for 
my  poor  soul  in  Jesus,  an  sen  dat  time  I  feel  some 
how,  all  better ;  I  know  now  he  will  make  me  all 
ready  pure  an  white  for  de  new  Jerusalem  above. 
An  now  I  love  to  think  about  de  time  when  I  shall 
<ome  to  'pear  befo  he  Father's  throne,  wid  him  in 
glory,  all  starry  spangly  white." 

For  a  moment  the  judge  sat  in  silence,  admiring 


THE  POWER  NEVER  FELT.  243 

the  power  of  grace.  Not  yet  himself  deeply  affected 
by  the  light  reflected  from  this  star  in  disguise. 
A  little  pressure  more  was  required  —  another 
chafing  question  —  to  bring  out  the  ray  destined  to 
pierce  his  own  soul. 

"  Well,  Nancy,  one  thing  more  let  me  ask  you  ; 
Do  you  never  complain  ?  " 

"  Complain  !  0,  now  massa  judge,  complain,  do 
you  say.  massa  ?  Why,  massa  !  Who  should  such 
a  one  as  I  is  complain  ob !  The  G-ood  Lor  ;  He  knows 
bes  what's  bes  for  poor  Nancy  !  His  will  be  done  !  " 

Nancy  said  this  in  tones  of  the  deepest  sincerity. 
And  a  little  more.  There  was  just  a  shade  of  won 
der  at  the  question  —  as  much  as  to  say,  "  What ! 
yo;i  an  officer  in  the  church,  and  a  man  of  education, 
a  judge,  and  yet  think  that  a  poor  creature  like  me 
might  complain  of  the  dealings  of  a  merciful  God 
and  Saviour  like  mine  ?  " 

The  arrow  took  effect.  The  judge  bowed  his 
head  in  silence  a  moment,  and  then  rose  and  bade 
Nancy  good-bye,  without  the  word  of  consolation 
and  prayer,  which  he  fully  purposed  when  he  went 
into  the  cabin. 

All  the  way  homo  he  kept  saying  to  himself, 
"  Well,  I  never  yet  said  '  His  will  be  done  '  in  that 
way.  I  never  felt  it.  Alone,  poor,  helpless,  bed 
rid,  dependent,  miserable  in  body,  and  yet  happy  as 
an  angel.  Ah  !  there  is  a  power  there  I  never  felt. 
But  I  must  feel  it,  and  God  helping  me  I  will.  Not 


244  THE   HIGHER   CHRISTIAN   LIFE. 

afraid  to  die.  Trusting  Jesus  to  purify  her  from  all 
sin,  and  present  her  spotless  before  God.  Waiting 
joyously  his  summons.  0,  blessed  faith  !  I  must 
know  more  of  this,  and  I  will." 

Two  weeks,  night  and  day,  the  arrow  rankled, 
rankled,  rankled.  His  pain  increased.  Sleep  for 
sook  him.  and  his  family  became  alarmed.  He  said 
nothing,  but  often  groaned  in  spirit  and  sighed 
deeply.  Sometimes  the  tears  were  seen  to  steal 
down  his  manly  cheeks.  All  wondered,  and  all 
waited  to  hear  what  had  come  over  the  strong  mind 
and  manly  heart  of  the  judge. 

At  last,  one  day  while  he  was  bowed  before  God,  he 
felt  in  his  heart  "  Thy  will  be  done."  The  storm- 
tossed  sea  of  his  soul  was  suddenly  calmed,  and  peace 
filled  his  heart — peace  as  a  river.  Now  he,  too,  could 
trust  Jesus  to  make  for  him  his  pathway  on  earth 
and  fit  him  for  heaven,  and  take  him  to  it  whenever 
and  from  whatever  place  it  might  please  him. 

It  was  the  beginning  of  a  new  life  for  him — a 
change  quite  as  great  as  at  the  time  of  his  conver 
sion,  and  as  it  has  proved,  the  beginning  of  blessed 
things  for  his  own  family  and  church  and  town,  and 
for  the  cause  of  Christ  generally.  Consistent  and 
steadfast  before,  he  has  been  a  burning  and  a  shining 
light,  letting  his  light  shine  far  and  near  ever  since. 

He  went  in  the  fulness  of  wealth  and  education, 
and  influence  and  honor,  to  the  poor,  lone,  lorn  Af 
rican  woman,  to  do  her  good  if  he  might  with  either 


THE  POOR  ENRICHING  THE  RICH.  245 

counsel  or  food,  or  clothing  or  money.  This  was 
the  full  purpose  and  prayer  of  his  heart ;  and  yet, 
while  he  gave  nothing  to  her,  he  received  from  her 
what  all  his  wealth  could  not  purchase  or  all  his  wis 
dom  devise. 

She,  poor  body,  had  nothing  to  give,  nor  so  much 
as  even  dreamed  of  giving  aught  to  anybody.  And 
yet,  without  a  thought  of  it,  she  did  give  to  the  rich 
and  honorable  judge  what  was  worth  more  to  him 
than  the  wealth  and  honors  of  all  the  world. 

And  what  does  this  illustrate  to  us  ?  What  but 
the  power  of  spirituality?  What  but  the  power 
which  poured  upon  the  few  illiterate  fishermen  of 
Gallilee  in  the  Pentecostal  baptism,  fitted  them  for 
the  reformation  of  the  world,  almost  in  a  single  gen 
eration  ?  What  but  the  very  power  now  needed  to 
transform  the  world  and  introduce  the  golden  age  of 
complete  gospel  triumph  ? 


CHAPTER  IY. 

THE   CHRISTIAN  LIFE, 

ITS   ABIDING   GRACES   AND   ABIDING    FORCES. 

Too  many  learn  how  to  live  just  when  they  come 
to  die.  The  great  principles  which  give  men  peace 
in  the  hour  of  death,  would  have  given  them  power, 
had  they  known  them  throughout  their  lives. 
These  great  principles  have  been  the  property  of 
the  few  in  the  past,  as  the  joy  of  their  pathway  and 
the  power  of  their  usefulness  in  life,  while  the 
many  ten  thousands  of  Israel  have  waited  until 
driven  into  them  by  the  stern  necessities  of  the 
dying  hour,  and  then  with  Dr.  Payson  and  Gov. 
Duncan,  they  have  poured  into  the  ears  of  God 
and  man,  the  singularly  commingled  notes  of  extat- 
ic  delight  in  their  newly  made  discoveries  of  the 
wonders  of  God's  wisdom  and  grace  in  the  plan  of 
salvation  —  and  of  regret  that  these  discoveries  had 
not  been  made  by  them  with  the  rising  instead  of 
the  setting  sun  of  their  Christian  course  in  the 
world. 


THE  TRIO  OF  GRACES.  247 

The  experience  in  question  —  in  the  main  —  is 
the  whole-hearted  reception  of  the  true  principles 
of  the  Christian  life  in  their  full  orbed  proportions. 
Learning  to  live,  not  simply  learning  to  die. 

Mainly  we  have  been  content  to  present  these, 
the  true  principles,  in  contrast  with  the  false,  in  the 
vain  struggles  of  struggling  ones  in  their  futile 
attempts  to  find  peace  and  purity  by  the  wrong 
course,  and  in  the  triumphant  issue  in  every  case 
the  moment  the  right  course  was  entered  upon.  It 
is  due  yet  more  fully  to  present  the  true  and  the  false 
in  contrast  in  their  subsequent  manifold  workings  in 
all  the  practical  progress  of  the  subsequent  life,  and 
in  all  the  questions  of  duty  and  difficulty  by  which 
the  disciple  of  Jesus  may  ba  perplexed  in  his 
course. 

A  field  for  a  volume  in  itself,  which  however 
must  be  compressed  to  a  space  bounded  by  the 
lines  and  landmarks  of  a  few  chapters  at  most. 

According  to  St.  Paul,  the  abiding  graces  of  the 
Christian  life,  are  Faith,  Hope  and  Charity ;  these 
are  also  its  abiding  forces,  at  once  gracious,  grate 
ful  and  powerful.  Gracious  as  the  merciful  gifts  of 
God's  ineffable  love,  and  graceful  as  chief  orna 
ments  of  the  disciples  of  Jesus  —  the  royal  regalia 
of  kings  and  priests  unto  God  —  the  clothing  of 
wrought  gold  all  beautiful  within  of  the  bride, 
the  Lamb's  wife  : — they  are  also  the  great  perma 
nent  forces  wrought  and  employed  by  the  Spirit  of 


248  THE   HIGHER   CHRISTIAN  LIFE. 

God  for  the  development  and  progress  of  the  Divine 
Life  in  the  soul,  and  for  its  outraying  influence,  giv 
ing  light  to  a  world  sitting  in  darkness  and  in  the 
shadow  of  death.  All  the  progress  vouchsafed  to 
the  disciple  of  Jesus,  whether  in  the  transformation 
of  his  own  character  into  the  image  of  his  Master, 
or  in  aiding  others  to  become  with  him  partakers  of 
the  divine  nature,  is  traceable  directly  to  these  three 
graces  and  forces  of  the  life  of  God  in  the  soul. 

The  germinal  start  of  Christianity  in  the  world, 
was  given  it,  it  is  true,  by  these  three  permanent 
forces  —  not  alone  —  but  aided  by  three  others, 
occasional  in  their  nature  —  inspiration,  miracles 
and  persecutions.  These  three  occasional  forces, 
each  in  its  own  measure  and  way,  but  all  with  the 
hand  of  the  mighty,  came  in  as  helpers  in  producing 
the  three  permanent  forces,  faith,  hope  and  charity, 
tending  directly,  like  the  protecting  glass  of  the 
green  house  in  aid  of  the  sun  to  give  a  vigorous  and 
early  expansion  to  that  which  otherwise  had  been  of 
much  slower  growth. 

Inspiration  caused  the  unmingled  and  undimmed 
light  of  the  Sun  of  Righteousness  to  shine  forth  in 
the  apostolic  teachings  vouchsafed  to  the  primitive 
church.  The  simplicity  and  directness  with  which 
the  apostles,  like  the  herald  of  Christ  on  the  banks  of 
the  Jordan,  pointed  to  Jesus  as  the  Lamb  of  God 
which  taketh  away  —  beareth  away  —  purg-eth  away 
the  sins  of  the  world,  is  wonderful.  And  wonder- 


THE   ONLY  NAME.  249 

fully  contrasted  too  with  subsequent  instructions, 
miracles,  like  inspiration,  pointed  also  directly  to 
Jesus,  in  aid  of  faith  in  his  name. 

No  miracle  ever  wrought  by  the  hand  of  an 
apostle,  was  ever  wrought  save  in  the  name  of  Jesus. 
And  even  to  the  face  of  their  fierce  persecutors,  be 
fore  whom  to  confess  Jesus,  was  a  crime  punishable 
with  death,  the  apostles  gave  always  and  only  the 
name  of  Jesus,  as  him  who  through  faith  in  his 
name,  made  the  cripple  to  leap  for  joy,  the  blind  to 
see  and  the  diseased  to  stand  up  in  their  presence 
made  whole.  Every  miracle  was  therefore  a  demon 
stration  that  all  power  on  earth  and  in  heaven  was 
centered  in  Jesus,  and  every  miracle  proclaimed 
therefore  the  name  of  Jesus  as  the  only  name  given 
under  heaven  amongst  men  whereby  we  must  be 
saved.  And  moreover  every  miracle  was  in  itself  a 
practical  occular  proof,  that  Christ  was  then  and 
there  present  in  power  —  though  absent  and  invisi 
ble  in  body  —  a  very  present  help,  mighty  and  able 
to  deliver,  able  to  do  exceeding  abundantly  above  all 
they  could  ask  or  think  according  to  the  power 
which  they  saw  at  work  with  their  own  eyes. 

Persecution,  also  in  its  own  bloody  way,  tended, 
though  far  from  its  wish,  to  build  up  the  faith,  which 
in  its  impotent  wrath  it  sought  to  destroy.  Most 
effectually  persecution  crucified  the  disciple  of  the 
crucified  Jesus  to  the  world,  and  the  world  to  him. 

With  bloody  hand  it  pointed  to  Jesus,  and  bade 
11* 


250  THE  HIGHER  CHRISTIAN    LIFE 

the  disciple  choose  between  him  and  the  world,  — 
Jesus,  with  imprisonment,  torture  and  death  —  or 
the  world,  with  life,  liberty  and  peace  —  was  the 
alternative  persecution  proposed.  And  he  who 
chose  the  Redeemer,  could  be  no  half-hearted  one, 
either  in  his  faith,  or  his  hope,  or  his  love,  centered 
in  Christ. 

Martyrdom  made  martyr  spirits  of  thousands  who 
were  not  themselves  called  to  the  stake  or  the  cross. 
And  the  martyr  spirit  which  shines  out  with  such 
lustre  from  dungeon  cells  and  fiery  faggots,  is 
bright  also,  and  beautiful  and  powerful,  in  the 
bosom  of  a  church  unmolested,  and  in  times  of  pro- 
foundest  peace. 

These,  however,  were  only  the  conservatory  influ 
ences,  especially  used  by  the  Great  Husbandman 
above,  for  the  early  and  vigorous  development  of 
Christianity  in  the  days  of  its  budding  existence  in 
the  world.  The  vine  in  its  maturity,  transplanted 
into  every  clime  and  soil  under  the  whole  heaven 
was  left,  as  it  has  now  been  left  nearly  eighteen 
hundred  years,  to  battle  with  the  elements  under 
divine  training  and  culture  by  virtue  of  its  three 
great  permanent  forces,  faith,  hope  and  love. 

Inspiration  passed  away  when  the  sacred  oracles 
were  filled  up  and  complete. 

Miracles,  as  the  seal  of  divine  inspiration,  ceased 
with  inspiration  itself. 

And  persecution,  always  fitful,  employed,  only  as 


LOVE   BEGOTTEN    OF   LOVE. 


c. 


<J£S 

the  wrath  of  man  could  be  made  to  praise  God, 
was  restrained  in  its  remainder,  and  long  since  has 
nearly  passed  away  forever. 

Now  abide  these  three,  Faith,  Hope  and  Charity. 
And  if  the  greatest  of  these  three  is  charity,  because 
by  and  by  faith  is  to  be  swallowed  up  in  sight  and 
hope  in  fruition,  leaving  charity  only  as  the  finally 
abiding  one  of  the  three  in  heaven.  Yet  faith  in 
another  sense  is  the  greatest  here  upon  earth,  as  the 
first  in  the  order  of  enumeration  not  only,  but 
also  of  reception  and  working. 

If  love  is  necessary  to  faith  to  make  it  saving, 
faith  is  necessary  to  love  for  its  very  existence. 

If  faith  without  love  is  but  a  sounding  brass  and 
a  tinkling  cymbal,  love  without  faith  would  be  less 
yet,  nothing  at  all,  it  could  not  be. 

The  plan  of  God  in  its  profound  wisdom  and  pow 
erful  working  is  simply  this,  to  charm  the  sinner 
into  love  for  God  by  making  him  see  God's  love  for 
the  sinner.  The  fulness  of  his  love  God  has  shown 
in  the  gift  of  his  only  begotten  Son  to  die  for  the 
sins  of  the  world.  And  faith,  while  it  is  the  hand 
of  the  soul  to  receive  and  appropriate  the  gift  as 
offered  from  God  in  his  gospel,  is  also  the  eye  of  the 
soul  to  perceive  the  ineffable  love  which  dictated 
the  gift,  and  it  is  the  sight  of  this  wonderful  love  of 
God  for  the  sinner  which  melts  the  heart  of  the  sin 
ner  into  love  for  God  in  return. 

Faith  then,  in  the  absence  of   vision,  and  until 


252  THE  HIGHER   CHRISTIAN   LIFE. 

sight  takes  its  place,  is  the  mainspring  of  love  and 
so  the  mainspring  of  life. 

Angels  and  the  just  made  perfect  have  no  need  of 
faith,  because  they  stand  in  the  presence  of  Jehovah, 
Jesus,  and  behold  his  glory  and  are  kindled  into 
rapture  thereby. 

Faith,  to  us,  supplies  the  place  of  sight,  as  far  as 
it  can,  and  as  far  as  we  have  it,  by  depicting  our 
God  and  Saviour  to  us  as  revealed  in  his  works  and 
word. 

Hope  is  only  another  aspect  and  application  of 
faith. 

Faith  is  the  second  sight  of  the  soul  given  of  God 
to  enable  us  to  realize  invisible  things  of  the  pres 
ent.  And  hope  is  this  same  second  sight  of  the  soul 
turned  toward  the  realities  of  the  future. 

The  apostle  himself  in  his  epistle  to  the  Hebrews, 
xi.  1,  includes  both  faith  and  hope  in  the  one  defi 
nition,  while  yet  in  that  definition  he  distinguishes 
clearly  the  distinctive  aspects  and  powers  of  the  two. 

"  Faith"  he  says,  "  is  the  substance  of  things 
hoped  for,  the  evidence  of  things  not  seen." 

Faith  in  the  aspect  of  hope,  pushes  forward  to  the 
end  of  the  world  and  beyond  into  the  kingdom . of 
glory,  and  brings  back  the  olive  leaf  promise  ;  nay 
the  very  substance  of  all  the  glories  which  are  out 
spread  in  their  infinite  duration  and  boundless  bless 
edness,  this  side  and  especially  beyond  the  tomb  and 
beyond  the  judgment,  while  faith,  as  the  second 


THE    SECOND   SIGHT.  253 

sight  of  invisible  realities  in  the  present,  is  the  evi 
dence  to  us,  of  what  Christ  has  already  done  for  us, 
in  tasting  death  for  our  sins,  and  what  he  is  now 
to  us  in  his  living  presence,  power,  care  and  love 
watching  over  us  from  day  to  day,  and  guiding  us  in 
all  the  struggles  and  issues  of  the  present  here 
upon  earth,  and  what  he  is  now  for  us  also,  as  our 
advocate,  mediator  and  friend  in  heaven  above. 

The  apostle  ilustrates  this,  his  two-fold  definition 
of  faith  by  calling  up  as  witnesses,  the  illustrious 
cloud  of  the  holy  men  of  old,  from  Abel  onwards, 
until  he  himself  is  swallowed  up  in  the  cloud  and 
ceases  from  sheer  inability  to  enumerate  the  bright 
host  gone  before. 

Enoch  exemplified  both  the  faith  which  realizes 
the  presence  of  God  here,  and  the  faith  which  is  the 
substance  of  glory  hoped  for  hereafter.  Enoch 
walked  with  God  by  faith  as  the  second  sight  of  in 
visible  realities  in  the  present.  By  faith  he  saw  God 
and  saw  what  would  please  him — and  gained  this 
testimony  that  he  did  please  him  in  the  then  present 
time. 

By  faith  as  a  second  sight,  a  prophetic  vision  of 
things  in  the  future,  Enoch  was  not,  for  God  took 
him.  He  looked  up  to,  and  longed  for,  and  was  trans 
lated  into  the  kingdom  of  glory,  without  having  died. 

So  Enoch's  faith  was  first  and  efficaciously  the 
evidence  of  things  not  seen  in  the  present,  and  then, 
and  most  gloriously,  the  substance  of  things  hoped 
for  in  the  future. 


254  THE   HIGHER  CHRISTIAN   LIFE. 

Noah,  by  faith  of  invisible  realities  in  the  present, 
feared  God  more  than  he  feared  the  scoffs  and  jeers 
and  violence  of  the  bloody  generation  who  filled  the 
world  with  their  deeds  of  terror,  and  in  spite  of  all 
they  could  do  and  say  built  the  ark  amongst  them, 
animated  and  sustained  by  the  presence  of  the  in 
visible  God  realized  to  him  through  faith. 

And  by  faith  as  a  hope  of  the  future  he  entered 
the  ark  and  outrode  the  flood,  which  swallowed  up 
the  whole  infidel  world,  and  saw  the  morn  of  a  new 
world  even  this  side  of  death. 

Abraham,  like  Enoch,  by  faith  evidencing1  to  him 
the  invisible  realities  of  the  present,  walked  also 
with  God,  abandoning  his  home,  dwelling  in  tents 
in  a  strange  land,  and  offering  up  Isaac,  the  son  of 
his  love  and  his  hope,  counting  God  able  to  raise 
him  up  from  the  dead. 

And  by  faith  as  the  substance  of  things  hoped  for  in 
the  future,  Abraham  also  grasped  the  mighty  future 
of  God's  covenant  promise,  both  as  it  related  to  his 
seed  after  him  to  be  as  the  stars  of  heaven  innumer 
able,  and  also  as  it  related  to  the  city  which  hath 
foundations  whose  builder  and  maker  is  God,  eter 
nal  in  the  heavens,  for  himself  and  his  seed. 

Moses,  by  faith  as  a  hope,  making  the  future  as 
real  to  him  as  the  actual  present,  and  far  more  glo 
rious,  while  yet  his  faith  was  imperfect  and  weak, 
and  his  character  undisciplined,  abandoned  Pha 
raoh's  court,  and  refused  to  be  called  the  son  of 


SEEING   HIM  WHO   IS  INVISIBLE.  255 

Pharaoh's  daughter,  because  he  had  respect  unto  the 
recompense  of  reward,  choosing  rather  to  suffer 
affliction  with  the  people  of  God  than  to  enjoy  the 
pleasures  of  sin  for  a  season. 

And  afterwards  —  forty  years  after  —  when  called 
of  God  to  the  work  of  delivering  his  people, — which 
forty  years  before  he  had  presumptuously  undertaken, 
being  as  yet  uncalled, — he  failed  not  as  in  the  first 
attempt,  because  God  was  now  with  him  as  he  was 
not  before.  And  he  was  sustained  by  faith  as  the 
evidence  of  invisible  realities  in  the  present,  mightier 
than  the  visible  realities  opposing  him ;  and  so,  in 
the  strength  of  a  present  God,  he  was  able  to  endure 
the  wrath  of  the  king,  the  murmurs  of  the  people, 
and  all  the  toils  and  trials  incident  to  breaking  the 
yoke  of  a  tyrannical  monarch,  and  leading  out  a 
vascillating,  ignorant  multitude,  and  sustaining, 
training,  organizing  and  disciplining  them  into  the 
form  and  order  of  a  compact  nation. 

In  all  these,  and  all  the  others  instanced  by  the 
apostle,  if  time  permitted  us  to  cite  them,  we  have 
illustrations  of  the  two  aspects  of  faith  —  one  as  the 
substance  of  things  hoped  for  in  the  future,  and  the 
other  as  the  evidence  of  things  unseen  in  the  present. 

Faith  and  hope,  then,  although  different  as  forces 
in  the  development  of  the  Christian  life,  are  yet  only 
one  and  the  same  thing  in  their  nature  in  two  dif 
ferent  aspects ;  the  one  turned  toward  the  invisible 
realities  of  the  present,  and  the  other  toward  the 


256  THE   HIGHER   CHRISTIAN   LIFE. 

certainties  of  the  future ;  the  one  resting  upon  Je 
sus  for  what  he  has  already  done  for  us  and  what  he 
now  is  for  us  in  heaven,  and  to  us  upon  earth,  and 
the  other  resting  also  upon  Jesus  for  what  he  is  yet 
to  do  for  us  and  be  to  us  in  time  and  eternity  ;  the 
one  is  the  gift  of  present  sight,  revealing  present 
things  to  the  blind,  else  all  unseen,  and  the  other  is 
telescopic  vision,  penetrating  far  away  into  the  fu 
ture,  and  bringing  near  the  glorious  things  else  all 
hidden  from  view  in  the  dim  distance  ahead. 

Love,  as  we  have  already  seen,  and  seen  how,  is 
the  offspring  of  Faith  begotten  of  Grace. 

By  grace  are  ye  saved  —  saith  the  apostle  — 
through  faith,  and  that  not  of  yourselves  ;  it  is  the 
gift  of  God. 

God's  gift  is  faith.  Faith  beholds  the  glorious 
grace  of  God  in  Christ  Jesus,  and  kindles  into  hope 
and  melts  into  love. 

We  see,  then,  that  faith  is  the  all-inclusive  gift  of 
God,  as  the  great  force  for  sustaining  and  developing 
the  Christian  life,  as  we  have  already  before  seen 
that  it  is  the  all-inclusive  condition  of  its  commence 
ment,  verifying  the  apostle's  saying,  and  the  Re 
former's  experience,  that  "  The  just  shall  live,  as 
well  as  be  made  alive  by  faith."  For  faith  includes 
hope  and  produces  love. 

Before  passing  to  consider  the  false  principles  too 
frequently  substituted  for  the  true,  as  the  means  of 
advancing  in  the  divine  life,  it  may  be  well  to  have 
an  illustration  of  the  sustaining  power  of  faith. 


SNAKE  HOLLOW.  257 

It  happened  to  the  writer  to  become  personally 
acquainted  and  associated  with  one  whose  life  de 
serves  to  be  sketched  by  the  pen  of  a  Legh  Rich 
mond,  or  a  Hannah  More,  and  placed  side  by  side 
with  the  Dairyman's  Daughter  and  the  Shepherd  of 
Salisbury  Plain,  in  every  household  of  the  world. 

THE    MINER    OF    POTOSI, 

We  met,  first  of  all,  and  repeatedly,  at  the  cabin 
of  a  woman  who  opened  her  doors  to  a  prayer-meet 
ing  from  week  to  week  on  Tuesday  evening. 

At  this  proseuchia,  (prayer-place,)  —  as  yet  there 
was  no  synagogue  (church,)  in  the  Hollow,  as  it 
was  called, — the  miner  had  long  been  wont  to  meet  a 
fellow-disciple,  and  sometimes  two,  or  even  three,  to 
pour  out  their  hearts  before  God,  and  hold  up  the 
standard  of  the  cross  amidst  the  surrounding  dark 
ness. 

It  seems  that  Satan  had  his  seat  there,  and  when 
the  disciples  of  Jesus  came  there,  he  stoutly  with 
stood  them  as  in  days  of  old.  It  was  first  called 
Snake  Hollow,  from  the  circumstance  of  finding  a 
snake  in  the  cavern,  where  the  lead  ore  was  first 
discovered,  and  for  years  the  trail  of  the  serpent 
seemed  to  be  upon  everything.  The  name  was 
afterwards  changed  to  Potosi,  and  the  new  name, 
suggestive  of  mineral  wealth,  was  not  without  its 
significance  as  to  spiritual  riches.  The  pearl  of 
great  price  was  there  found  by  not  a  few ;  pearls  and 


258  THE   HIGHER   CHRISTIAN  LIFE. 

diamonds  also,  were  there  polished  into  rare  bril 
liance  and  beauty  for  the  Master's  crown  in  the 
day  when  he  shall  make  up  his  jewels. 

The  first  Herald  of  the  gospel  who  was  known  to 
pass  through  the  winding-street  down  the  Hollow ,  was 
followed  by  certain  lewd  fellows  of  the  baser  sort,  — 
bearing  rule  there  at  the  time, — with  empty  whiskey 
barrels.  Loose  stones  were  put  in  at  the  bung  for  the 
noise  they  would  make.  They  rolled  the  barrels  rap 
idly  on,  up  to  the  very  heels  of  the  minister's  horse, 
with  hootings  and  howlings,  if  possible  to  frighten 
the  horse,  and  make  him  run  with  his  rider  and 
throw  him.  But  both  horse  and  rider  were  too  cool 
for  their  assailants.  They  made  their  way  in  safety 
out  of  the  place. 

The  next  minister  —  fared  better  —  shall  I  say  ? 
Hardly.  He  sent  an  appointment  before,  and  in 
due  time  following  his  appointment  he  went  on  for 
its  fulfilment.  The  place  selected  was  a  vacant  log 
cabin,  and  his  pulpit  the  clay  hearth  at  one  end  of  the 
cabin,  under  the  open  hole  in  the  roof,  which,  when 
a  fire  was  kindled  on  the  hearth,  served  as  a  chim 
ney  of  escape  for  the  smoke  as  it  rose.  There  on  the 
hearth  the  preacher  took  his  stand,  while  before  him 
a  dozen  or  twenty  men  were  seated  on  boards  across 
stones,  and  upon  boxes  and  nail-kegs,  butter-firkins 
and  other  extempore  affairs,  common  to  such  places 
and  times. 

He  had  not  gone  far  in  his  service,  however,  be- 


SABBATH    ORGIES.  259 

fore  strange  sounds  were  heard  over  his  head  —  a 
terrible  thumping,  as  of  men's  hands  striking  hard 
upon  a  table  —  a  sort  of  table-rapping  above ;  and 
oaths  the  loudest  and  vilest  imaginable,  showing  the 
spirits  not  to  be  disembodied  at  least.  Looking  up, 
what  should  be  seen  there  but  these  same  lewd  fel 
lows  of  the  whiskey-barrel  affair,  seated  around  the 
hole  in  the  roof,  with  a  board  laid  across  from  knee 
to  knee,  with  their  feet  dangling  below,  playing 
cards.  He  went  on,  however,  in  spite  of  it,  to  the 
end,  and  the  worship  of  God  triumphed  over  the  at 
tempts  at  disturbance. 

An  occasional  exercise  of  the  Sabbath  there, 
was  this :  In  the  morning,  they  gathered  in  force 
a  hundred,  or  two  hundred,  strong,  at  the  head 
of  the  Hollow.  Organized  in  mock-Indian-mil- 
itary  order,  with  one  of  themselves  as  a  chieftain 
in  command.  And  after  copious  refreshings  of 
whiskey,  they  marched  in  single  file  —  a  fiddle 
solo  ahead  for  their  band,  —  with  yells  a  la  Indian, 
making  the  bluffs  reverberate  on  either  side  of  the 
Hollow,  down  the  whole  length  of  the  winding-way, 
stopping  to  refresh  and  dance,  and  screech  at  each  of 
the  many  drinking-places  by  the  street  side.  God  had 
better  things,  however,  in  store  for  them.  Amongst 
others,  —  and  one  of  the  best,  —  the  Lord  sent  our 
miner  there  to  pitch  tent  and  delve  both  for  the 
lead  ore  in  the  earth,  and  for  the  unfading  and  un 
failing  treasures  above.  One  of  the  early  standard- 


260  THE   HIGHER   CHRISTIAN   LIFE. 

bearers,  he,  with  the  consent  and  to  the  delight  of 
the  good  woman  at  whose  house  we  first  met,  planted 
the  standard  at  her  house,  and  gave  Ids  colors  to  the 
breeze,  in  sight  of  all  in  the  place.  By-and-by,  the 
place  filled  up,  even  to  overflowing.  Then  other 
cabins  were  open  on  other  evenings  of  the  week. 
Then  a  long,  log-store  was  rented  and  fitted  up  as  a 
church.  Then  a  church  was  built.  So  the  pro- 
seuchia  grew  at  last  into  a  synagogue,  and  many 
will  date  their  conversion  to  God  at  that  Bethel  in 
the  mines. 

We  met  afterward  at  his  own  house,  or  cabin  — 
for  cabin  it  was  —  one  room  with  a  loft,  reached  by 
a  ladder  in  one  corner.  A  chest  serving  the  pur 
pose  of  bureau  and  sofa,  between  meals,  and  settee 
at  the  table  ;  a  bed  in  each  of  the  two  corners  far 
thest  from  the  hearth,  two  or  three  stools,  a  few 
pots,  skillets,  crocks  and  dishes,  and  a  looking-glass, 
comprising  the  furniture.  He  was  tall  and  manly, 
graceful  and  dignified  —  accustomed  to  refinement 
and  good  society. 

He  had  previously  told  me  that  h£  was  reared  in 
old  Virginia,  in  the  ease  and  affluence  of  heirship 
to  a  plantation  and  servants ;  and  had  left  there,  for 
conscience  sake,  with  his  servants,  to  provide  for 
them  and  set  them  free  in  a  free  State.  That  he  had 
then  embarked  what  had  remained  to  him,  in  mer 
chandise,  in  a  promiscuous  credit-trade  in  the  prairie 
land  of  the  Northwest,  and  there  had  lost  almost 


FOUR  HEBE  —  ONE  IN  HEAVEN.       261 

everything  through  failure  of  debtor  after  debtor 
to  pay  him  their  dues.  That  he  had  followed  one  of 
the  largest  of  these  to  the  mines,  hoping  there,  —  by 
patient  waiting  in  the  presence  of  his  debtor,  the 
turn  of  the  wheel,  that  he  might  sometime  realize  the 
fair  promises  the  debtor  was  abundant  in  making. 
And  that  there,  little  by  little,  all  he  had  left  had 
gone  to  feed  and  clothe  himself  and  his  family,  until 
now,  stripped  of  all,  he  was  dependent  upon  the 
daily  earnings  of  his  own  naked  hands,  delving  with 
spade  and  pick,  for  ore  in  the  earth  for  the  daily 
support  of  his  wife  and  little  ones. 

But  the  cheerful  tone  and  happy  face  of  the  man 
as  he  told  the  tale  of  his  losses,  could  not  but  strike 
one  as  wonderful. 

Meeting  him  at  his  cabin,  he  welcomed  me  heart 
ily,  gave  me  a  stool,  took  my  hat,  and  urged  me  to 
stay.  After  the  warm  greetings  were  over  I  asked 
him  how  many  children  he  had.  Looking  fondly 
xipon  the  three  little  girls  and  one  little  boy  gathered 
at  his  knees  and  mine,  he  answered : 

"Five,  —  four  here  as  you  see,  and,"  looking  up 
with  an  expression  which  seemed  to  havj  borrowed 
both  its  peace  and  its  joy  from  heaven  above,  "  one 
there." 

Ah  !  there  spoke  out  the  faith,  with  its  telescope 
turned  heavenward,  the  very  substance  of  things 
hoped  for  ! 

And  then  I  saw  the  power  which  sustained  him  so 


262  THE   HIGHER   CHRISTIAN   LIFE. 

joyously  in  his  privations,  and  toils,  and  trials,  here 
upon  earth. 

A  cabin  could  well  serve  him  —  as  a  tent  served 
the  patriarchs  of  old,  for  his  eye  was  fixed  upon  a 
house  not  made  with  hands  eternal  in  the  heavens. 

But  this  was  not  all.  We  met  often  afterwards, 
and  always  with  pleasure  and  profit  to  me.  Once  in 
particular,  when  his  words  gave  me  an  insight  into 
his  faith  in  its  other  aspect  as  the  evidence  of  things 
present  not  seen. 

A  missionary  excursion  was  suggested,  requiring 
a  journey  of  eighty  miles  in  all,  and  an  absence  of 
several  days  from  our  homes.  The  miner  was 
always  ready  for  every  good  word  and  work,  and  his 
excellent  wife,  whose  faith  was  as  strong  and  whose 
heart  was  as  warm,  as  her  husband's,  was  always 
ready  to  consent  to  his  absence  when  the  service  of 
the  Master  seemed  to  require  it. 

Calling  at  his  cabin  to  consult  him,  his  good  wife 
directed  me  to  his  diggings,  a  mile  or  so  over  the 
hills.  There  was  a  little  snow  on  the  ground,  and 
I  traced  his  path  until  I  found  him.  But  I  should 
have  never  known  him  by  his  looks.  Always  be 
fore  when  I  had  seen  him/ it  was  in  dress  of  former 
days — a  little  rusty  as  to  fashion,  but  really  rich 
and  genteel,  and  very  becoming  to  his  large  and 
graceful  person,  but  now  he  was  in  miner's  garb, 
covered  with  red  clay  from  the  crown  of  his 
slouched  hat  to  the  sole  of  his  feet — face,  hands, 


A  RED   CLAY  MAN.  263 

clothes  and  all  —  a  red  clay  man  in  appearance. 
And  as  1  came  up  to  the  heap  of  earth  thrown  up 
from  the  hole  where  he  was  digging,  and  looked 
down  upon  the  planter-merchant  in  his  miner's  dis 
guise,  I  could  not  believe  it  was  him,  although  I 
looked  down  full  into  his  upturned  face.  "  Ah,  my 
friend,"  I  exclaimed,  u  is  this  you  ? " 

He  caught  all  that  was  in  my  heart  in  the  tone  of 
wonder  with  which  the  question  was  asked.  But 
instead  of  being  saddened  by  the  thought  of  his 
poverty  and  toil,  he  was  kindled  into  joy  at  the 
thought  of  Him  who,  in  his  wisdom  had  per 
mitted  it  all.  And  with  an  expression  which  made 
the  very  clay  on  his  face  radiant  with  the  peace  of 
God,  he  in  turn  exclaimed,  pointing  upward, 

"  'Tis  He,  appoints  our  daily  lot,  and  He  does  all 
things  well." 

There  spoke  out  the  faith  which  realizes  a  very 
present  God  in  all  his  wisdom,  power  and  love, 
working  all  things  together  for  good  to  them  that 
love  him,  the  called  according  to  his  purpose. 

And  here  again,  as  in  the  case  of  Enoch,  and 
Noah,  and  Abraham,  and  Moses,  we  have  the  two 
fold  aspect  of  faith  exemplified,  the  faith  of  the  pres 
ent  and  the  faith  of  the  future.  And  in  the  two  we 
have  the  combined  force  appointed  of  God,  to  sus 
tain  His  children  in  the  crucible  discipline  of  life, 
and  bring  them  forth  from  the  fires,  if  seven  times 
heated,  only  by  it,  seven  times  purified  from  the 
dross  of  corruption. 


264  THE   HIGHER  CHRISTIAN  LIFE. 

Like  Paul  and  Silas,  in  prison,  thrust  into  the  in 
nermost  dungeon,  fast  in  the  stocks,  lacerated  with 
stripes,  and  covered  with  blood,  yet  singing  praises 
to  God  spite  of  all,  our  miner  was  not  only  sus 
tained  from  sinking  into  despondency  and  despair, 
but  made  more  joyous  than  he  had  ever  been  in  the 
sunniest  hours  of  his  youth,  and  in  the  brightest 
days  of  his  highest  prosperity. 


CHAPTER   Y. 


THE   CONTRAST. 

"  WHO  SHALL  DELIVER  ME  FROM  THE  BODY  OF  THIS  DEATH 
I  THANK  GOD,  THROUGH  JESUS  CHRIST  OUR  LORD." 

THERE  are  Christians  of  two  classes  in  the  world, — 
not  to  mention  others  at  present,  —  both  fond  of  the 
apostolic  saying  placed  as  a  motto  above,  but  very 
different  in  experience  and  position. 

They  of  the  one  class  repeat  only  the  first  part  of 
the  text  —  the  question  —  leaving  off  the  answer  to 
it.  That  gives  the  key  to  their  experience.  They 
of  the  other  class  repeat  both  question  and  answer, 
with  intelligent  zest.  Those  of  the  first  class  have 
come  to  the  full  and  painful  understanding  of  sin 
dwelling  in  them  as  a  body  of  death.  Chained  to 
them  as  a  Roman  soldier  was  chained  for  years  to 
the  Apostle  Paul ;  and  as  dead  bodies  have  been 
chained  to  living  men.  They  have  come  to  feel  the 
bondage  of  sin,  but  they  have  not  yet  come  to  know 
the  joys  of  deliverance,  and  the  sweet  liberty  of  the 
children  of  God. 

12  263 


266  THE   HIGHER  CHRISTIAN  LIFE. 

Not  that  they  are  not  Christians.  Not  that  they 
have  never  been  converted  to  God.  They  have 
been  truly  converted,  or  the  name  Christian,  would 
be  a  misnomer  for  them.  But  they  have  learned 
only  that  their  sins  are  forgiven  through  faith 
in  the  atonement  of  Jesus.  They  have  not  yet 
learned  that  Jesus  through  faith  in  his  name  is  the 
deliverer  from  the  power  of  sin,  as  well  as  from  its 
penalty.  They  believe  in  the  blood  of  Jesus  as 
their  sacrifice  for  sin,  but  they  are  struggling  by 
resolution,  with  Jesus  to  aid  it  —  it  may  be  —  to  free 
them  from  the  bondage  of  sin. 

Perhaps  they  have  come  along  so  far  as  to  see  and 
feel  that  resolution,  even  in  the  strength  of  Christ, 
is  a  poor  deliverer,  that  it  fails  ever  and  anon.  And 
yet  they  see  nothing  better,  and  so  they  cry  out, 
Who  shall  deliver  me  from  the  body  of  this  death  ? 

And  there  they  stop.  There  their  experience 
stops.  So  far  they  have  come,  but  no  farther. 
While  they,  of  the  second  class  referred  to,  ask  the 
question,  indeed,  Who  shall  deliver  me  from  the 
body  of  this  death  ?  but  answer  it  in  the  same 
breath  by  finishing  the  quotation,  in  the  apostle's 
exulting  words  :  I  thank  God.  through  Jesus  Christ 
our  Lord. 

They  have  learned  that  there  is  deliverance  now 
here  in  this  life  through  faith  in  Jesus.  While  the 
others  sigh  and  groan  in  their  bondage  as  if  there 
was  no  deliverance  this  side  the  grave.  They 


THE  TWO   SYMBOLS.  267 

have  learned  experimentally,  they  know,  that  Jesus 
Christ  our  Lord,  through  faith  in  his  name,  does 
actually  deliver  the  trusting  soul  from  the  cruel 
bondage  of  its  chains  under  sin,  now  in  this  present 
time  ;  while  the  others  have  learned  —  not  that  Jesus 
docs  deliver — but  that  their  own  resolutions  in 
Jesus'  name,  do  not  deliver  them ;  and  not  knowing 
that  Jesus  can  do  it,  they  turn  with  a  sigh  toward 
death  as  their  deliverer  from  the  power  of  this 
death,  as  if  death  was  the  sanctifier  or  the  sanctifi- 
cation  of  the  children  of  God. 

They  of  the  one  class,  if  asked  for  the  truest  and 
most  graphic  delineation  of  the  Christian's  condi 
tion  in  life  here  in  this  world  of  temptation  and  sin, 
will  point  to  the  seventh  chapter  of  Romans,  and 
say,  "There  you  have  it.  That,  of  all  others,  de 
scribes  our  state  and  our  struggles  here  below  —  a 
law  in  our  members  warring  with  the  law  in  our 
minds.  We  see  the  right  but  do  the  wrong.  We 
would  do  good  but  evil  is  present  with  us.  We 
resolve,  but  soon,  alas,  sin  overcomes  us.  Then  we 
resolve,  no  more  in  our  own  strength,  but  now  in 
the  strength  of  the  Lord.  And  yet,  notwithstand 
ing  this  fortifying  of  resolution  by  acknowledging 
its  weakness  and  looking  to  Christ  for  aid  to  keep  it 
from  breaking  —  alas,  it  is  soon  broken,  all  the 
same  as  before." 

They  of  the  other  class,  if  asked  for  the  inspired 
symbol  of  their  condition,  would  point  us  to  the 


268  THE   HIGHER   CHRISTIAN   LIFE. 

eighth  chapter  of  Romans,  and  say  :  "  There  you  have 
it.  Once,  indeed,  we  were  in  the  seventh,  but 
thanks  be  to  God,  through  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ, 
who  has  given  us  deliverance  from  the  body  of 
death,  we  have  now  found  our  way  out  of  the  bond 
age  of  the  seventh,  into  the  sweet  liberty  of  the 
eight.  The  chain  is  broken  by  the  power  of  Christ. 
We  are  freed  from  the  dead  body  of  sin.  We  are 
now  linked  by  the  three-fold  cords  of  faith,  hope 
and  love,  to  the  living  Saviour  as  our  deliverer  from 
present  corruption,  and  from  all  the  power  of  sin. 

The  dead  body  is  dropped.  The  living  Jesus, 
sweet  Jesus,  precious  Jesus,  gracious  Saviour,  con 
stant  Friend,  mighty  Deliverer,  has  taken  its  place 
—  ever  with  us. 

Once,  indeed,  we  were  in  the  seventh,  but  then 
we  were  at  best  only  as  servants  in  our  own  Father's 
house ;  but  now  we  have, — through  faith  in  Christ, — 
received  the  spirit  of  adoption,  and  have  become  in 
the  fullest  and  happiest  sense,  sons  and  daughters  of 
the  Lord  God  Almighty.  Then  we  feared  before 
Him  as  servants  in  presence  of  a  Master,  but  now 
we  dwell  in  love  with  Him  as  children  with  an  af 
fectionate  Father,  and  as  the  bride  with  a  loving 
bridegroom. 

Our  bondage  is  gone  —  freedom  has  come.  Our 
sighs  have  given  place  to  joys —  our  fears  to  hopes. 
Our  vain  struggles  to  a  sweet  confidence  in  the 
strong  arm  and  loving  heart  of  Jesus." 


A   PRESENT   SAVIOUR.  209 

Now  how  shall  this  contrast  be  made  more  strik 
ing  ? 

The  grand  difference  between  the  two  classes  is, 
that  the  one  has  and  the  other  has  not  found  Jesus, 
as  a  present  Saviour  from  the  present  power  of  sin. 
The  one  still  sighs  in  the  bondage  of  the  sad  and 
sorrowful  problem,  Who  shall  deliver  me  from  the 
body  of  this  death  ? 

While  the  other  now  exults  in  its  blessed  solu 
tion,  giving  thanks  to  God  for  triumphant  deliv 
erance  already  wrought,  through  faith  in  our  Lord 
Jesus  Christ. 

This  —  but  this  also  involves  another  grand  differ 
ence  which  must  not  be  overlooked  in  the  contrast. 

They  of  the  one  class  have  a  Saviour  in  Jesus  it 
is  true  —  but  he  is  a  Saviour  afar  off —  up  in  heav 
en,  as  they  think  of  him,  and  not  with  them  now 
here  upon  earth.  While  they  of  the  other  class 
have  Jesus  ever  with  them  —  a  very  present  help  in 
every  time  of  need  —  a  friend  which  sticketh  closer 
than  a  brother. 

THE     CRIPPLE. 

A  poor  youth  came  to  the  shores  of  America 
from  Old  England,  a  few  years  ago,  bringing  with 
him  only  the  prayers  of  a  devoted  mother  whom  he 
left  in  the  home  of  his  birth. 

His  faith  stood  then  only  in  the  teachings  of  his 
mother.  The  living  faith  which  is  the  vital  union 
between  Jesus  and  the  soul  he  had  not. 


270  THE   HIGHER    CHRISTIAN   LIFE. 

Falling  in  company  with  Universalists  on  his  way 
westward  from  New  York,  his  traditional  faith  was 
soon  shaken  from  its  sandy  foundation,  and  then  the 
legitimate  fruits  of  his  new  notions  about  universal 
salvation  were  quick  to  ripen,  and  most  abundant  in 
fruitage,  though,  alas,  their  fruits  were  not  very  fair 
to  the  eye  nor  very  sweet  to  the  taste. 

Bitterly  did  he  rue  it  afterwards. 

He  fell  into  loose  habits  and  loose  company.  The 
Sabbath  was  turned  into  a  play  day,  or  a  work  day, 
as  best  suited  to  his  pleasure  or  his  purse,  and  vice 
ceased  to  be  contraband  even.  His  feet  were  on 
slippery  steeps,  and  swiftly  sliding,  when  suddenly 
the  Lord  arrested  him  by  a  casualty  from  which  he 
was  saved  alive  by  a  singular  —  miracle,  shall  I 
say  ?  Almost  a  miracle  it  certainly  was. 

At  work  on  a  frame,  then  in  course  of  erection, 
his  foot  slipped  —  he  tottered  —  reeled  —  fell.  He 
was  at  work  on  the  second  story  —  and  falling  he 
was  caught  by  a  joist  below.  He  fell  backwards 
and  the  small  of  his  back  came  upon  the  timber. 
He  was  taken  up  alive,  but  with  little  hope  of  his 
living  a  single  hour. 

His  agony  was  awful,  and  as  he  recovered  from 
the  first  stunning  effects  of  his  fall,  his  returning 
sensibilities  seemed  more  and  more  alive  to  suffer 
ing  every  moment. 

Nothing  relieved  him.  The  severity  of  his  pain 
constantly  grew  greater  for  many  hours.  At  last 


THE  DITCH  AND  THE  MIRE.         271 

in  the  madness  of  despair,  lie  sent  for  a  quantity  of 
whiskey,  and  drank  enough,  as  he  hoped,  to  drown 
his  suffering,  and  let  him  die  in  insensibility  —  but 
it  failed  to  intoxicate.  Strangely  enough,  it  gave 
the  relief  which  all  the  physician's  medicines  and 
skill  had  failed  to  give,  and  he  began  to  recover. 

With  the  thought  of  recovery  came  also  a  review 
of  his  past  life.  Remembrances  of  his  home  and 
his  mother  came  upon  him,  and  now  his  life  of  dis 
sipation,  with  the  opiate  of  Universalism,  which  had 
lulled  his  fears  of  God  and  Eternity,  was  to  him 
like  a  dream  when  one  awake th.  He  felt  it  to  be  all 
wrong,  all  false.  He  saw  his  delusion,  and  most 
bitterly  lamented  his  folly  and  sin. 

Weary  nights  and  days  he  prayed  and  struggled 
for  peace  and  pardon.  Sleep  seldom  visited  his 
eyes.  Fears  were  his  daily  food.  His  cries  pre 
vented  the  dawn  of  the  morning.  His  sins  grew 
heavy,  —  a  load  too  great  to  be  borne. 

At  last,  one  night,  overborne  with  weariness,  he 
fell  into  a  troubled  sleep,  and  in  his  sleep  he  dream 
ed. 

He  thought  he  had  fallen  into  a  ditch,  not  very 
deep.  It  seemed  to  him  at  first  easy  to  make  his 
escape,  but  when  he  attempted  it,  he  sunk  down 
deeper  and  deeper  with  each  successive  struggle,  un 
til  at  last  he  found  himself  sinking  in  the  mire  over 
his  head,  and  just  about  to  be  drowned  in  the  filthy 
waters  of  that  horrible  place. 


272  THE   HIGHER   CHRISTIAN  LIFE. 

Just  then,  lifting  up  his  eyes,  he  saw  stooping  over 
him,  the  bending  form  of  a  strong  man,  with  his 
hand  outstretched  to  save. 

"  0  that  he  would  save  me  !  "  thought  the  young 
man,  and  he  ceased  to  struggle  to  save  himself. 
Then  the  hand  of  the  rescuer  grasped  him  firmly, 
and  lifted  him  easily  out  of  the  mire,  and  placed 
him  upon  the  bank  of  the  ditch,  and  in  a  moment 
he  had  stripped  him,  washed  him,  and  clothed  him 
anew, —  and  just  then  the  troubled  dreamer  awoke 
from  his  sleep. 

"  Ah  !  "  said  he  to  himself,  "  I  see.  I  see.  I  can 
never  save  myself —  all  my  struggles  are  in  vain, 
and  worse  than  in  vain.  I  do  but  sink  deeper  and 
deeper.  Jesus  must  save  or  I  must  perish.  " 

And  Jesus  did  save.  His  feet  were  taken  from 
the  horrible  pit  and  the  miry  clay.  He  was  washed 
and  clothed,  and  made  happy  in  a  sense  of  sin  for 
given,  and  the  hope  of  Heaven. 

His  spirits  rose,  and  his  health  returned,  —  that  is 
to  say,  the  health  of  his  body,  from  the  waist  up 
ward.  From  the  small  of  his  back  downward  he 
was  paralyzed  and  shrivelled  away.  From  his  waist 
upward  he  grew  fat  and  fair. 

He  applied  himself  to  sewing  for  employment  and 
for  a  living,  and  soon  acquired  skill  to  earn  a  fair 
maintenance,  with  something  to  give  to  the  poor 
and  to  the  treasury  of  the  Lord. 

He  was  happy  until  by  and  by  thoughts  of  his  des- 


THE  WIND-FALL.  2  T3 

olation  began  to  grow  upon  him.  Others,  God  had 
set  in  families ;  to  him  this  was  denied.  None 
would  ever  love  him  as  he  longed  to  be  loved. 
He  should  never  have  wife  or  children  bound  to  him 
by  the  tender  bond  of  matrimonial  or  filial  affection. 
His  heart  yearned  for  the  endearments  which  he  felt 
in  his  soul  he  was  created  to  enjoy.  And  as  the  cer 
tainty  pressed  upon  him  that  he  could  never  enjoy 
them,  his  heart  sunk  within  him  and  seemed  to  be 
withering  away  like  his  limbs. 

"  Alas !  "  he  thought,  "  must  it  be  so  ?  Yes,  it 
must  indeed.  None  can  ever  love  me  as  the  bride 
loves  her  husband.  I  can  never  have  one  to  love 
and  cherish,  as  the  bridegroom  loves  and  cherishes 
the  chosen  companion  of  his  life." 

Again  he  became  intensely  wretched.  His  troubled 
soul  denied  him  the  embrace  of  even  "  tired  nature's 
sweet  restorer,  balmy  sleep,"  until  at  last,  in  sheer 
exhaustion,  he  fell  into  wakeful  slumbers,  and 
dreamed  again  as  before.  In  his  dream  he  seemed 
to  be  entangled  in  logs  and  trees,  lying  criss-cross 
over  the  ground  in  utter  confusion,  as  they  are 
sometimes  found  in  our  forests,  where  the  hurricane 
has  done  its  work,  and  made  what  is  called  a  wind 
fall  —  no  tree  left  standing,  but  all  blown  down,  one 
over  the  other,  in  all  conceivable  positions. 

In  the  distance,  he  saw  Jesus  standing,  and  at 
once  began  struggling  to  make  his  way  over  the  logs 
to  the  Master,  but  could  not.  He  was  foiled  in 
12* 


274  THE   HIGHER   CHRISTIAN   LIFE. 

every  attempt,  and  at  last  gave  up  in  despair  ;  and 
then,  looking  up,  there  was  Jesus  standing  with  out 
stretched  arms,  before  him.  And  0,  so  lovely  and 
so  loving.  The  Saviour  clasped  him  in  his  arms, 
and  spoke  words  of  endearment,  assuring  him  that 
he  would  be  ever  with  him  ;  would  never  forsake 
him,  but  love  him  freely,  as  the  bridegroom  loves 
the  bride,  and  cherish  him  as  his  beloved  forever. 

He  awoke,  and  behold  it  was  a  dream,  and  yet  not 
all  a  dream.  Thenceforth  the  longing  of  his  soul 
for  one  to  love  him,  and  be  beloved,  was  satisfied. 
Evermore  Jesus  was  with  him,  the  bridegroom  of 
his  heart. 

THE     INQUIRER    AND     HER    WISH. 

There  came  to  a  little  meeting  of  those  who  had 
already  learned  the  secret  of  living  in  the  faith  of  an 
ever  present  Saviour,  and  of  those  who  were  desirous 
of  hearing  about  it,  a  very  lovely  woman,  a  wife  and 
a  mother  ;  a  Christian  for  many  years,  and  yet  by  no 
means  satisfied  with  her  state  and  condition. 

But  let  her  tell  her  own  story.  The  oppor 
tunity  was  given ;  it  was  in  the  parlor  of  one  of  their 
number,  and  ladies  only  were  present.  She  spoke 
with  a  pathos  that  touched  every  heart, —  "  I  have 
been  many  years  a  Christian  ;  I  would  not  give  up 
my  hope  of  heaven  for  a  world.  It  is  founded  upon 
the  precious  blood  of  the  Son  of  God.  I  have  com 
mitted  my  soul  to  him,  and  I  believe  he  will  not  for- 


THE  BITTER  CRY.  275 

sake  me  in  the  hour  of  death,  or  condemn  me  at  the 
judgment.  And  sometimes  I  feel  him  very  near  to 
me,  and  then  I  am  very  happy.  No  tongue  can  tell 
how  sweet  my  peace  is  at  such  times.  It  passes  all 
understanding.  But  then  again  my  heart  wanders 
from  him,  and  I  try  to  get  back  to  him.  I  pray,  and 
repent  of  my  wanderings,  and  resolve  to  keep  my 
heart  more  diligently,  and  promise  the  Lord  if  lie 
will  only  restore  me  I  never  will  wander  again  ;  but 
alas  for  me  !  too  often  all  my  resolutions  and  prom 
ises,  and  cries  and  struggles,  are  vain,  and  I  am 
forced  to  give  up  and  live  on,  conscious  that  I  am 
left  by  the  Saviour,  so  that  I  could  repeat,  with 
some  sense  of  its  bitterness,  the  agonized  cry  of  the 
dying  Redeemer  himself,  in  the  hour  of  his  darkness : 
Eloi,  Eloi,  Lama  Sabachthani !  My  God,  my  God, 
why  hast  thou  forsaken  me. 

Now  I  have  come  here  to  learn  from  you,  dear 
friends,  if  you  will  teach  me,  how  to  live  so  as  to 
have  my  Saviour  ever  with  me. 

I  am  like  a  wife  who  tenderly  loves  her  husband, 
and  longs  for  his  society,  and  would  fain  make  his 
home  so  agreeable  to  him  that  he  would  never  leave 
it  for  the  club  or  the  theatre,  or  the  opera  or  a  party, 
or  any  other  place,  however  fascinating ;  but  who, 
for  want  of  wisdom  or  skill,  so  fails  as  ever  and  anon 
to  be  forsaken  by  him  for  a  time,  and  for  times  that 
seem  wearisome  and  long  to  her ;  and  who  is  utterly 
at  a  loss  how  to  change  her  own  course  so  as  to  win 


276  THE  HIGHER  CHRISTIAN  LIFE. 

and  secure  the  constant  presence  of  her  husband  at 
home. 

Once  I  had  a  father  —  noble  man  —  he  is  now 
reaping  in  heaven  the  reward  in  glory  of  a  life  of 
singular  devotion  to  Jesus  upon  earth.  He  was  a 
wonder  to  me.  He  seemed  to  have  the  presence  of 
Jesus  from  morning  till  night,  and  from  year's  end 
to  year's  end,  always  from  my  earliest  recollections. 
I  do  not  remember  ever  to  have  heard  him  make  the 
complaint  made  by  so  many,  and  alas !  made  so  often 
by  me  —  of  the  absence  of  Jesus.  His  face  kindled 
up  in  a  moment  at  the  mention  of  Jesus,  and  all  his 
prayers  and  all  his  words  and  ways  showed  that  he 
was  full  in  the  faith  of  that  assurance,  '  Lo,  I  am. 
with  you  alway,  to  the  end  of  the  world.' 

My  case  was  so  different  that  I  often  wondered 
at  it. 

One  day,  shortly  before  he  took  his  triumphant 
departure  to  heaven  —  I  was  then  about  eighteen  — 
I  asked  him,  saying  father,  how  is  it  ?  I  frequently 
wander  away  from  my  Saviour,  and  find  it  hard  to 
return.  You  seem  always  to  have  Him  present  with 
you.  Do  you  never  get  away  from  Him  ? 

'Never,  my  dear  child,  never;  never  so  but  what 
I  can  get  back  in  one  minute.' 

I  shall  never  forget  his  words  or  his  looks  ;  and  I 
have  come  now  to  meet  you  here,  and  learn,  if  I 
may,  how  to  live  always  in  the  faith  of  the  presence 
of  Jesus  as  my  beloved  father  did  ?  " 


THE  BRIDEGROOM  DELIVERER.         277 

This  secret  of  living  in  the  faith  of  an  ever  present 
Saviour  —  loving,  tender,  watchful,  faithful  — is  the 
secret  learned  by  those  of  the  eighth  chapter  class, 
and  this  is  the  secret  of  their  zest  in  repeating  the 
triumphant  answer  to  the  sad  question,  Who  shall 
deliver  me  from  the  body  of  this  death  ?  I  thank 
God  through  Jesus  Christ  our  Lord. 

And  this  is  the  secret  which  they,  of  the  class  of 
the  seventh  chapter,  have  not  learned,  and  therefore 
it  is  that  they  still  sigh  in  their  bondage  and  groan 
under  the  weight  of  the  body  of  death. 

It  is  quite  remarkable,  however,  that  while  these 
last  point  to  the  seventh  of  Romans  as  the  exposi 
tion  of  their  state  and  condition,  they  always  clip 
this  graphic  chapter  at  both  ends  to  make  it  suit 
their  experience.  It  opens  with  the  beautiful  rep 
resentation  of  the  matrimonial  relation  as  that 
between  Christ  and  his  followers,  and  closes  with  the 
exultant  note  of  deliverance  from  the  very  state  of 
bondage  to  which  these  sighing  ones  point  as  their 
own. 

A  moment's  thought  should  make  them  see  that 
they  are  not  honoring  the  Bridegroom  Deliverer 
when  they  point  to  this  hopeless  bondage ;  this 
struggling,  sighing,  groaning  condition  ;  this  slavery 
to  sin  ;  this  weddetl  state  with  a  Body  of  Death  as  the 
Bridegroom,  —  as  the  state  and  condition  to  which 
he  has  introduced  them.  A  poor  bridegroom,  surely, 
he  must  be,  who  holds  his  bride  as  a  slave,  sighing 


278  THE    HIGHER    CHRISTIAN   LIFE. 

and  groaning  for  liberty,  and  crying  out,  Who  shall 
deliver  me  from  the  body  of  this  death  ! 

And  a  poor  bride  must  she  be,  whose  heart  goes 
abroad  for  its  pleasures  away  from  the  embraces  of 
her  groom  ;  so  fascinated  by  the  contraband  delights 
of  the  world,  that  even  when  she  would  be  true  to 
her  home  and  her  spouse,  she  is  always  haunted  by 
thoughts  and  desires  after  others ! 

Perhaps  there  is  no  more  striking  example  of  the 
contrast  between  the  two  classes,  than  that  which  is 
presented  in  the  Bible  between  the  two  states  of  the 
apostles  themselves,  before  and  after  the  Pentecostal 
baptism. 

Like  the  twelve  found  at  Ephesus  by  the  apostle 
Paul,  if  the  question  had  been  asked  them  before  the 
day  of  Pentecost,  Have  ye  received  the  Holy  Ghost 
since  ye  believed  ?  the  appropriate  answer  would 
have  been :  We  have  not  so  much  as  heard  whether 
there  be  any  Holy  Ghost.  And  like  Apollos,  before 
he  was  taken  by  Aquilla  and  Priscilla,  and  instructed 
into  the  way  of  the  Lord  more  perfectly,  they  had  as 
yet  only  the  baptism  of  metenoya  conversion  —  a 
change  of  heart  —  and  not  yet  a  heart  filled  with  the 
faith  of  a  present  Saviour,  wrought  in  them  by  an  in 
dwelling  Holy  Ghost. 

Those  two  disciples,  on  their  way  to  Emmaus  — 
0,  how  pensive !  how  sad  arid  sorrowful  in  the 
thought  of  a  Saviour,  absent  from  them.  They 
thought  it  should  have  been  He  that  would  have  de- 


SONGS  IN  THE   PRISON   HOUSE.  279 

livered  Israel.  But  alas !  he  was  dead  —  he  was 
gone,  and  Israel  was  not  delivered.  A  Saviour 
passed  away,  mighty  in  word  and  deed,  but  gone  — 
not  with  them. 

0,  how  different  from  Pentecost  onward.  A 
Saviour  ever  with  them.  Mighty  in  word  and  deed, 
and  always  present.  Always  directing  them  where 
to  go ;  always,  in  every  moment  of  trial,  putting 
words  into  their  hearts  which  all  their  adversaries 
could  not  gainsay  nor  resist ;  always,  in  every  temp 
tation,  making  a  way  of  escape  ;  always  hearing 
their  cries  unto  Him  ;  always  giving  power  to  their 
words,  spoken  in  weakness  ;  always  gladdening  their 
hearts,  even  in  dungeons  and  in  the  stocks,  and  in 
the  fires  and  under  the  scourge. 

Paul  and  Silas,  with  their  bodies  lacerated,  bloody, 
sore  and  stiff  in  their  gore  from  the  terrible  scourge 
laid  upon  them  each  forty  strokes,  save  one, —  thrust 
into  the  inner  prison,  and  their  feet  made  fast  in  the 
stocks  ;  were  yet  happier  there  in  their  prayers  and 
praises  to  a  present  Saviour,  than  the  eleven  were  in 
their  liberty  and  in  their  safety,  with  all  the  assur 
ance  that  Jesus  was  risen  from  the  dead  which  their 
own  eyes,  from  seeing  him,  and  their  own  hands, 
from  feeling  the  print  of  the  nails  and  the  print  of 
the  spear,  could  give  them,  while  yet  their  faith  was 
not  sufficient  to  see  and  feel  and  know  that  he  was 
present  with  them  in  invisible  reality  and  power. 

To  know  that  Jesus  is  with  us,  and  that  He  will 


280  THE   HIGHER    CHRISTIAN    LIFE. 

keep  us  by  His  own  power,  and  wash  us  in  His  own 
blood,  and  lead  us  by  His  own  hand,  and  uphold  us 
from  falling,  or  lift  us  when  fallen,  and  watch  over 
us  day  and  night  —  our  Shield,  our  Friend,  our  Shep 
herd  and  King,  our  God  and  Saviour !  0,  this  is 
the  crowning  happiness  of  the  Christian's  heart  and 
the  Christian's  life  in  this  the  house  of  his  pilgrim 
age  !  Give  me  rather  to  stand  with  the  three  in  the 
furnace  seven  times  heated,  and  the  Son  of  Man 
with  me  there ;  or  with  Daniel  in  the  den  of 
lions,  and  Jesus  with  me  there  ;  yea,  a  thousand 
times  rather,  than  to  recline  or  walk,  or  feast,  in  tho 
palace  of  a  king,  if  the  King  of  kings  be  not  with 
mo  there ! 

From  this  contrast  of  the  two  states  and  stages  of 
experience,  as  they  affect  the  Christian  in  his  own 
heart  and  life, — giving  to  his  course  the  cast  of  sad 
ness  anl  sighing  under  bondage  in  the  one  case,  and 
of  exultant  joys  in  the  glorious  liberty  of  conscious 
deliverance  in  the  Other, — we  must  now  pass  to  these 
things  as  they  affect  the  Christian  in  the  power  of 
his  usefulness  as  a  soldier  of  the  cross,  and  as  a 
worker  together  with  God  in  the  spread  of  His  gos 
pel.  But  this  must  form  the  subject  of  another 
chapter 


CHAPTER  VI. 


THE    HARMONY. 
DANGER,     DUTY     AND     DELIGHT: 

OR,  THE   CUMULATIVE   PROGRESS,  AND  CUMULATIVE   POWER   OF 
CHRISTIAN   EXPERIENCE. 


**  THE  FEAE  or  THE  LORD  is  THE  BEGINNING  OF  WISDOM.' 


"  THY  STATUTES  HAVE   BEEN  MY  SONGS  IN  THE  HOUSE  OF  MY  PILGRIM 
AGE." 


"  YE  SHALL  RECEIVE  POWER  AFTER  THAT  THE  HOLY  GHOST  IS  COMB 
UPON  YOU;  AND  YE  SHALL  BE  WITNESSES  UNTO  ME  IN  JERUSALEM  AND 
IN  ALL  JUDEA  AND  IN  SAMARIA,  AND  UNTO  THE  UTTERMOST  PART  OF 
THE  EARTH." 


THE  contrast  drawn  in  the  seventh  and  eighth 
of  Romans,  between  the  Law  and  the  Gospel  is 
strong.  And  just,  too. 

The  law,  to  those  who  cling  to  it  and  reject  the 
grace  of  God,  hoping  to  be  saved  by  their  own 
merits  and  works,  does  work  bondage  and  death. 

"While  the  gospel,  to  those  who  receive  it  does 
work  liberty  and  life. 

281 


282  THE   HIGHER    CHRISTIAN    LIFE. 

Nevertheless  there  is  no  antagonism  between  the 
two,  but  harmony  rather,  and  union,  and  power  in 
the  union. 

In  the  husbandry  of  the  farm,  the  drill  and  not 
the  plow,  gives  the  crop.  If  the  land  were  left  as 
the  plow  leaves  it,  there  would  be  no  crop,  but  of 
thistles  and  weeds.  The  plow  destroys  every  living 
thing,  tearing  all  up  root  and  branch,  and  burying 
all  under  the  ground.  While  the  drill  plants  the 
seed,  and  under  the  blessing  of  God,  ensures  a  golden 
harvest  and  a  full  garner.  The  farmer  might 
plow  his  ground  ten  times,  or  a  hundred  times  over, 
and  yet  never  have  a  harvest  if  that  were  all  he 
should  do.  Nevertheless  there  is  no  antagonism  be 
tween  the  plow  and  the  drill.  It  takes  both  to 
make  the  land  yield  to  the  diligent  hand  its  reward. 

In  the  husbandry  of  the  kingdom,  the  law  is  the 
plow,  and  the  gospel  is  the  drill.  And  the  deeper 
the  plow  is  put  in  the  better  the  crop,  provided  only 
that  the  drill  follows  in  due  time,  casting  in  seed  in 
abundance. 

It  is  in  the  nature  of  Christian  experience  to 
accumulate  power  as  it  progresses  from  stage  to 
stage. 

There  are  three  stages  of  experience  in  the  life  of 
every  one  redeemed  to  God.  Conviction,  submis 
sion,  sanctification.  And  there  are  three  motives 
corresponding,  by  which  the  Holy  Spirit  germinates, 
advances  and  perfects  the  divine  life  of  the  soul,  — 
danger,  duty  and  delight. 


LEIGH   RICHMOND.  283 

A  sense  of  danger  first  startles  the  careless  one 
from  his  senseless  slumbers  and  arouses  him  to  flee 
from  the  wrath  to  come. 

A  sense  of  duty  next  rises  into  supremacy  and 
constrains  him  to  submit  his  own  works  and  ways  to 
God's. 

And  at  last  a  sense  of  delight  in  the  Lord  and  his 
ways  becomes  the  absorbing  and  dominant  motive  in 
the  heart  and  life,  perfecting  obedience  in  love. 

In  each  there  is  power,  and  all  the  power  there  is 
in  each  and  in  all  is  accumulated  by  him  who  gains 
all. 

The  second  absorbs  the  first,  and  the  third  the 
second.  The  sense  of  danger  seems  to  become  lost 
when  the  sense  of  duty  becomes  strong,  and  the 
sense  of  duty  seems  in  its  turn  to  be  lost  when  it  is 
transmuted  by  the  grace  of  God  into  delight.  Nev 
ertheless  not  a  particle  of  either  is  lost. 

Leigh  Richmond  began  his  course  as  a  clergyman 
of  the  church  while  yet  he  was  in  his  sins,  and  knew 
no  better.  After  a  time  he  was  awakened  to  a 
sense  of  his  peril  and  guilt.  Then  he  began  preach 
ing  in  the  power  of  his  convictions,  and  his  people 
were  preached  by  him  into  conviction,  and  under 
condemnation  like  himself.  There  they  stopped.  — 
He  could  lead  them  no  farther.  He  had  not  found 
the  way  out  himself.  How  should  he  lead  others 
out? 

A  year  or  two  afterwards,  however,  the  way  was 


284  THE   HIGHER    CHRISTIAN    LIFE. 

made  plain  to  him,  and  right  joyously  he  entered  it. 
Then  at  once  he  began  preaching  justification  by 
faith,  and  his  people  were  soon  rejoicing  with  him  in 
the  joys  of  sins  forgiven. 

While  under  conviction,  but  yet  unconverted,  he 
had  power  to  preach  the  terrors  of  the  Lord,  and 
used  it,  —  but  no  more.  The  grace  of  God  which 
saves  the  soul  from  wrath,  may  have  been  to  him  as 
a  sweet  song  in  the  ear,  but  it  had  no  power  on  the 
heart,  and  neither  had  he  power  to  bring  it  home  to 
the  hearts  of  others. 

But  by  and  by,  when  it  was  made  of  God  to  him 
the  power  of  salvation,  then  it  became  a  power  to 
others  from  his  lips,  to  break  their  fetters  also,  and 
fill  them  with  songs  of  rejoicing. 

Meanwhile  Leigh  Richmond  lost  nothing  of  his 
power  in  preaching  the  terrors  ol  the  Lord,  by  pass 
ing  himself  personally  out  from  under  their  weight, 
but  gained  rather  —  for  now  in  the  light  of  the 
wondrous  sacrifice  made  to  redeem  sinners  from  ex 
posure  to  the  wrath  to  come,  he  could  weigh  with  a 
hand  more  just  the  inconceivable  weight  of  judg 
ment  and  fiery  indignation  to  which  they  are  expos 
ed. 

Just  so  it  is  when  the  Christian  is  led  onward  into 
the  experimental  knowledge  of  Christ  as  his  sanctifi- 
cation  ;  it  gives  him  not  only  the  power  to  witness 
for  Jesus  what  he  himself  has  found  so  sweetly  real 
ized  to  him  in  his  own  heart  and  life  concerning  the 


FELIX    NEFF.  285 

presence  of  his  Saviour,  to  subdue  his  sins,  and  keep 
him  through  faith,  in  all  the  fulness  of  salvation 
from  day  to  day,  —  but  his  sense  of  the  exposure  of 
sinners  to  the  wrath  of  God  and  the  Lamb,  and  his 
sense  of  way  of  justification  through  faith  in  the 
Lord  Jesus  Christ,  are  also  greatly  enhanced ;  while 
at  the  same  time  his  own  love  of  Jesus,  and  love  to 
those  in  peril  of  losing  their  souls,  is  increased  a 
hundred-fold. 

The  advancing  experience  is  not  so  much  like  a 
chain  of  equal  links,  added  one  after  the  other,  but 
more  like  a  tree  in  its  successive  stages  of  growth. 
Each  stage  of  its  progress  not  only  sends  its  top  high 
er  into  the  regions  of  faith  and  hope,  and  its  roots 
deeper  into  the  fatness  of  truth  and  love,  but  adds, 
also  in  equal  measure  to  the  strength  and  body  of 
all  previous  growth. 

Felix  NefF  is  a  singular  instance  of  the  power  of 
one  who  is  himself  under  the  terrors  of  a  certain 
fearful  looking  for  of  judgment,  to  awaken  others 
to  their  perilous  exposure.  From  valley  to  valley  he 
blew  the  trumpet,  amongst  the  mountains  as  if  he  had 
just  come  down  from  the  judgment  seat,  —  and  it 
was  not  until  after  his  strength  was  consumed  by  the 
fire  of  his  zeal,  and  he  had  come  down  from  the  moun 
tains  to  spend  the  mere  wasted  brand  of  his  life  in  the 
genial  clime  of  the  plains,  that  hope  sprang  up  in  his 
soul  —  the  sweet  foretaste  of  joys  to  come. 

If  Felix  Neif,  however,  had  first  felt  the  fiery  con- 


286  THE  HIGHER    CHRISTIAN    LIFE. 

damnation  of  the  law  in  his  soul,  and  then  found  the 
sweet  peace  of  sins  forgiven,  before  his  mission  in 
the  mountains,  his  trumpet  would  have  sounded  as 
loud  and  clear,  and  far  more  sweet ;  and  great  as  was 
his  success,  it  would  have  been  manifold  more,  and 
his  life  many  years  longer. 

Dr.  Payson  was  a  polished  and  powerful  shaft  in 
the  hands  of  God.  Hundreds  were  saved  by  his 
ministry ;  but  much  of  his  strength  was  wasted,  in 
what  he  saw  afterwards  to  have  been  vain  strug- 
glings.  Had  he  known  to  trust  in  Jesus  for  his  own 
soul's  sanctification,  and  for  all  fitness  to  herald  the 
Saviour  to  others,  not  only  would  he  have  been  sav 
ed  what  he  himself  said  was  wasted,  but  his  life 
might  have  been  spared  long  to  the  church,  and  his 
success,  great  as  it  was,  increased  vastly  in  its  meas 
ure. 

The  cumulative  progress  and  power  of  advancing 
religious  experience,  is  like  to  what  sometimes  hap 
pens  in  oriental  life,  in  social,  civil  and  domestic 
relations.  A  prince  takes  captives  in  war.  They 
are  kept  under  guard  and  in  chains.  They  are 
dragged  at  his  heels  to  grace  his  triumphal  return 
to  his  capital.  He  holds  the  power  of  life  and 
death  in  his  hands,  and  they  tremble  lest  he  should 
order  them  killed.  His  eye  is  taken  by  one  of  their 
number.  He  orders  him  to  be  loosed  from  his 
bonds,  and  clothed  in  the  livery  of  his  household. 
He  is  installed  as  a  servant  and  treated  with  all 


THE  CAPTIVE    MADE    A    SON.  287 

kindness,  He  in  turn  is  dutiful  and  true  to  his 
master.  Day  by  day  he  wins  upon  the  regard  of 
the  prince,  and  step  by  step  he  is  advanced  in  posi 
tion,  until  at  last  he  comes  to  be  the  confidant  and 
adviser  of  the  prince,  in  all  the  affairs  of  his  house 
hold  and  kingdom. 

At  first  he  felt  hatred  only  toward  the  prince,  and 
that  the  bitterest.  Then  he  submitted,  only  be 
cause  he  must  do  it  or  die.  But  now  there  has 
grown  up  a  sense  of  duty  to  the  prince  so  strong 
and  deep  that,  rather  than  betray  the  trust  reposed 
in  him,  he  would  prefer  to  die. 

By  and  by  the  prince's  affections  become  more 
like  a  father's  than  a  master's.  He  has  no  sons 
and  one  daughter  only,  a  lovely  creature  every  way 
worthy  of  her  father's  fondness,  the  pride  and  joy 
of  his  life.  He  reasons  thus,  "  Who  so  faithful, 
and  who  so  worthy  in  all  my  kingdom,  as  this  my 
servant  ?  Whom  could  I  trust  with  the  happiness 
of  my  daughter,  and  with  the  rule  of  my  kingdom 
after  me,  so  well  as  he  ?  If  it  suits  he  shall  have 
my  daughter,  and  he  be  my  son  and  heir." 
The  arrangement  is  made  to  the  joy  of  all  parties. 
The  former  captive,  a  servant  of  late,  has  now 
become  a  son.  The  livery  of  the  servant  is 
changed  for  the  habiliments  of  the  prince.  And  in 
his  heart  where  dread  ruled  at  the  first,  and  duty 
afterward,  now  love  holds  the  sway.  The  interests 
of  his  father  are  his  own,  and  in  the  house  where 


288  THE  HIGHER    CHRISTIAN    LIFE. 

once  he  was  faithful  as  a  servant,  he  now  serves 
faithfully  still,  but  no  longer  as  a  bonds-man,  but  as 
a  son.  He  knows  and  feels  the  power  and  authori 
ty  of  the  prince  as  fully  as  when  he  himself  was  a 
captive  in  chains,  trembling  for  fear  of  losing  his 
life  ;  and  feels  ten  thousand  times  more  desirous  of 
sustaining  him  in  his  authority.  And  he  knows 
and  feels  his  own  duty  as  deeply  as  when  he  was  a 
servant  in  livery,  and  loves  far  better  to  do  it.  But 
superadded  to  these,  he  has  now  also  the  affections, 
and  the  position,  and  the  interest  of  a  son,  in  the 
house  and  the  kingdom  of  his  father  soon  to  be  his. 
The  submission  yielded  in  the  days  of  his  captivity, 
only  because  he  must  do  it  or  die,  he  now  yields 
with  the  cheerfulness  of  reverence  and  love.  And  the 
obedience  rendered  afterwards  from  a  sense  of  duty 
is  now  given  as  the  joyful  service  of  filial  affection, 
and  honor,  —  the  pride  of  his  life. 

Just  so  it  is  in  our  relations  to  God ;  the  submission 
and  service  which  at  the  first  was  the  constraint  of 
fear,  and  afterward  the  award  of  duty,  becomes 
finally,  in  the  fulness  of  faith  and  the  fulness  of 
salvation,  an  oblation  of  gratitude,  rising  out  of  the 
golden  censer  of  a  sanctified  heart. 

This  is  the  crowning  glory,  and  the  crowning 
power,  too,  of  the  Christian  religion,  and  of  the 
divine  life  in  the  soul. 

Other  religions  may  induce  fear  as  strong  as  death, 
and  desire  to  escape  from  the  penalty  and  power  of 


THE  TRUE  PHILOSOPHER'S  STONE.  289 

sin  sufficient  to  lead  men  on  to  toil  and  torture ;  but 
it  is  the  Christian  religion  alone  which  has  power  to 
convert  bonds  into  songs,  and  duties  into  delights. 

And  now  how  is  it  that  this  transmutation  is 
made  ?  What  is  that  power,  better  than  the  philoso 
pher's  stone  or  the  lamp  of  Aladdin,  which  works 
this  wondrous  change  ? 

We  have  seen  already  that  it  is  faith. 

Faith  :  which  is  the  assured  hope  of  a  home  eter 
nal  in  the  heavens,  and  also  an  assured  knowledge 
of  the  presence  and  power  of  Jesus  to  deliver  us 
from  the  dominion  as  well  as  the  penalty  of  sin,  and 
keep  us  by  the  power  of  God,  through  faith  unto 
salvation.  The  very  crowning  thing  which  completes 
the  fulness  of  this  faith,  is  the  apprehension,  not  so 
much  of  the  certainty  of  final  salvation,  as  the 
joyful  confidence  of  the  presence  of  Jesus,  as  a  pres 
ent  Saviour  from  sin,  and  a  present  captain  of 
salvation,  to  direct  us  and  sustain  us  in  every  con 
flict  with  Satan,  and  in  every  effort  to  extend  the 
Kingdom  of  God  in  the  world.  And  this  is  the  very 
gist  of  the  experience  sought  to  be  illustrated  and 
urged  in  these  pages. 

And  now,  again,  what  is  the  great  power  of  the 
followers  of  Christ  for  the  spread  of  his  Gospel  ? 
The  power  TO  WITNESS  FOR  JESUS.  And  this  is  at 
once  the  greatest  and  yet  the  simplest  and  easiest 
power  given  of  God  to  man. 

To  witness  for  Jesus.  To  point  to  the  Lamb  of 
13 


290  THE    HIGHER   CHRISTIAN    LIFE. 

God,  and  testify  that  lie  does  take  away  the  sins  of 
the  world.  To  hail  the  Captain  of  salvation  as  a 
present  leader  and  commander,  and  inspire  others 
with  the  like  faith  of  his  presence  and  power. 

The  child  may  wield  this  power  if  he  has  the 
faith  in  its  fulness  ;  but  the  greatest  giant  of  intel 
lect,  or  eloquence  that  ever  electrified  men  by  the 
fire  of  his  genius,  and  the  flash  of  his  words,  will 
utterly  fail  of  this  greatest  of  powers  if  he  fails  of 
the  faith. 

When  Jesus,  just  then  in  act  to  ascend  up  to  his  Fa 
ther  from  the  summit  of  Olivet,  promised  the  disciples 
that  they  should  receive  power,  after  that  the  Holy 
Ghost  should  be  given  them  —  in  the  same  breath  he 
added  the  definition  of  that  power,  by  foretelling  its 
use,  saying :  And  ye  shall  be  witnesses  for  me  in 
Jerusalem,  and  in  all  Judea,  and  in  Samaria,  and 
unto  the  uttermost  part  of  the  earth. 

The  grand  work  of  the  Christian  in  the  spread  of 
the  gospel,  is  to  witness  for  Jesus,  to  tell  the  story  of 
the  cross.  But  mark  ye  !  and  mark  ye  well !  not  that 
alone.  That  would  be  the  story  of  a  dead  Saviour. 
Ours,  thanks  be  to  God  is  a  living  Saviour,  ever  living 
to  make  intercession  for  us.  The  story  of  the  resur 
rection  and  ascension  must  be  added  to  the  story  of 
the  crucifixion  and  burial.  But  mark  ye  again !  and 
mark  well !  not  this  alone — this  would  be  but  the  story 
of  an  absent  Saviour  —  ours,  to  our  joy  unspeak 
able,  is  a  present  Saviour,  mighty  to  save,  able  to 


THE  OLD  STORE  AND  THE  NEW.       291 

deliver,  from  all  the  power  of  the  world,  the  flesh, 
and  the  devil.  The  story  of  Pentecost  must  be 
added  to  that  of  Calvary  and  Olivet  —  the  story  of 
the  return  of  Jesus  in  omnipresence  and  omnipo 
tence,  by  the  Holy  Spirit,  to  be  with  all  his  disciples 
every  where,  even  unto  the  end  of  the  world. 

It  is  ours  to  witness  for  Jesus  ;  but  our  testimony 
cannot  go  beyond  our  experience.  With  the  apos 
tles,  we  cannot  but  speak  the  things  we  have  seen 
and  felt ;  but  the  things  we  have  not  seen  and  felt  we 
cannot  speak  effectively  and  convincingly.  The  Holy 
Ghost  must  first  witness  to  us,  before  we  can  wit 
ness  to  others,  the  things  of  experience.  The  con 
vinced  soul,  like  Leigh  Richmond  in  the  days  of  his 
conviction,  may  testify  for  the  law  in  its  heart-search 
ing  length  and  breadth,  and  the  converted  soul  may 
testify  for  the  gospel  in  its  power  to  bring  sweet 
Asurance  of  sins  forgiven  and  the  hope  of  heaven, 
but  it  is  only  him  who  has  also  found  by  similar 
deeper  experience  the  way  of  sanctification  by  faith, 
who  can  point  to  Jesus  as  the  deliverer  from  sin  in 
like  manner  as  from  its  penalty. 

And  then,  too,  as  we  have  already  illustrated,  in 
each  successive  stage  of  advancement,  there  is  a  new 
spring  and  strength  of  force  given  to  all  that  has 
gone  before. 

In  advancing  we  do  not  lose  the  things  that  we 
leave  behind,  as  we  press  onward  to  the  mark,  but 
double  the  old  store  in  gaining  the  new. 


292  THE  HIGHER    CHRISTIAN    LIFE. 

The  apostles  did  not  more  than  half  understand 
the  significance  of  all  that  Jesus  did  and  said  while 
he  was  with  them  in  person  in  the  days  of  his  flesh. 
But  afterward,  when  in  the  power  of  the  Holy 
Ghost,  he  came  to  them  and  dwelt  with  them,  and 
within  them,  from  the  day  of  Pentecost  onward, 
then  with  all  that  was  new  to  them,  in  this  new  ex 
perience  of  theirs,  there  came  also  such  a  recollec 
tion  of  all  that  Jesus  had  said  and  done,  with  such  a 
new  fulness  of  significance  in  all,  as  made  it  all  like 
a  new  story  to  them. 

Luther  and  D'Aubigne  ;  in  their  after  and  deeper 
experience,  found  the  word  of  God  illuminated  anew 
to  them,  with  a  richer  and  fuller  significance  of  truth 
and  grace.  The  things  they  understood  before,  they 
understood  better  now;  and  the  things  that  came 
home  to  them  with  power  before,  came  home 
to  them  with  a  new  power  now  ;  while  at  the  same 
time  they  saw  Jesus,  and  felt  the  blessedness  of  his 
presence  and  might  now  in  a  new  relation  entirely, 
viz.  as  their  sanctification,  —  and  in  all  this  they 
were  witnesses  for  Jesus  in  the  fulness  of  the  new 
power  received  from  God,  in  the  new  experience  of 
his  wisdom  and  grace  in  providing  a  way  of  escape 
from  sin  itself  as  easy  and  plain  as  the  way  of  escape 
from  the  wrath  to  come. 

This  accounts  for  the  new  spring  and  power  of  use 
fulness  given  to  these  men.  Useful  before,  they  were 


WAYSIDE    WORDS    AND   DEEDS.  293 

a  hundred-fold  more  so  afterwards.  Their  knowl 
edge  of  science  was  not  extended.  They  were  not 
advanced  to  new  and  higher  posts  of  honor  and  pow 
er.  Their  positions  and  circumstances  remained 
as  they  were  before,  but  they  had  made  new  discov 
eries  in  the  science  of  salvation,  and  gained  new  po 
sitions  in  the  world  of  faith,  and  the  fire  was  kindled 
in  their  hearts  into  a  new  glow  of  fervency  and  light. 
The  waters  of  life  came  welling  up  anew  in  their 
souls,  overflowing  and  flowing  out  in  rivers,  in  their 
testimony,  oral  and  written,  from  pulpit  and  press, 
concerning  Jesus,  to  a  sin  ruined  world. 

And  this  accounts  also  for  what  we  sometimes  see 
—  more  wonderful  even  than  the  abundant  useful-* 
ness  of  such  men  as  these  who  stand  in  the  fore-front 
of  the  line  —  the  equally  abundant,  though  less 
wide-spread  and  widely  known  usefulness  of  persons 
who  from  extreme  infirmity  or  age  might  be  expect 
ed  to  cease  from  their  labors  entirely  :  — 

Miss  SUSAN  ALLIBONE,  for  example.  Though 
young,  she  was  for  years  before  her  departure  from 
life  unable  to  work  or  walk,  but  she  could  testify  for 
Jesus.  As  she  was  wheeled  along  the  sidewalk  in 
her  little  hand  carriage,  she  could  address  the  work 
men  and  the  wayfarers  whom  she  met,  in  tones  and 
words  so  tender  and  sincere,  that  they  wondered  at 
the  gracious  things  which  she  spoke,  and  bore  wit 
ness  that  she  had  been  with  him  who  is  full  of  grace 
and  truth.  Their  hearts  were  touched  and  moved 
more  than  by  the  most  eloquent  appeals  of  the  giants 


294  THE  HIGHER  CHRISTIAN    LIFE. 

of  the  pulpit.  And  from  her  hands  the  tract  was 
never  refused,  nor  yet  the  exacted  promise  to  read 
it  prayerfully,  it  may  well  be  believed,  often  left  un 
fulfilled. 

And  they  who  came  to  her  bedside,  as  many  a  ser 
vant  of  God  can  testify,  left  it  with  new  light  in  the 
soul,  and  feeling  as  though  they  had  been  privileged 
indeed  beyond  the  common  lot  of  man,  quite  on 
the  verge  of  heaven. 

And  of  her  it  may  be  said  —  as  indeed  of  all  who 
have  advanced  so  far  —  that  the  faith  of  the  presence 
of  Jesus  in  all  the  plentitude  of  sanctifying  power 
and  sanctifying  grace,  was  the  crowning  charm  and 
crowning  excellence  of  all.  Self-emptied  and  self- 
abased,  prostrate  at  the  feet  of  Jesus,  she  looked  up 
to  him  as  her  all  in  all,  and  in  him,  never  absent, 
always  present  to  her  faith,  she  dwelt  even  in  the 
midst  of  the  deepest  infirmities,  and  sometimes  in 
untold  agonies  of  suffering,  yet  always  on  the  sunny 
slope  of  the  hills  of  salvation,  and  like  the  tree  of 
life,  always  bearing  fruit  in  abundance,  ripening 
every  month  and  every  day  of  the  year. 

Her  memoirs  have  been  written.  As  much  may 
be  said  of 


whose  record  is  on  high,  but  whose  good  deeds  have 
found  none  to  chronicle  them  amongst  men. 

At  eighty  his  athletic  frame  had  begun  to  tremble 


OCTOGENARIAN    WORKER.  295 

under  the  weight  of  years,  and  his  manly  form  to 
stoop  a  little,  —  strange  if  it  had  not  been  so.  His 
infirmity  indeed  was  so  great  that  his  children  would 
no  longer  willingly  consent  to  his  living  apart  from 
them  or  following  his  old  occupation.  "  Father,  " 
they  said  to  him,  "  you  have  done  enough  already. 
It  is  time  you  gave  yourself  up  to  rest.  Come,  live 
with  us.  Let  us  take  care  of  you.  Enjoy  the  free 
dom  of  all  our  houses.  Go  where  you  please  and 
when  you  please,  and  be  at  home  wherever  you  go. 
All  we  have  is  yours.  But  work  no  more,  and  live 
no  longer  by  yourself.  " 

This  was  kind  and  right.  The  old  man  loved  his 
children,  and  was  delighted  with  this  new  evidence 
of  their  affection  for  him. 

But  no.  He  would  not  consent  to  their  plan. 
For  two  years  more  he  remained  in  his  own  house,  and 
kept  up  his  occupation  and  his  establishment  in  reg 
ular  routine. 

Meanwhile,  however,  he  visited  every  family,  pray 
ed  in  every  house,  and  talked  personally  with  every 
man,  woman  and  child,  of  a  suitable  age,  in  a  circle 
of  five  thousand  inhabitants,  and  many  were  awaken 
ed  by  his  words.  He  established  and  maintained  al 
so,  a  weekly  union  prayer  meeting,  changing  from 
house  to  house  in  a  circuit  as  large  as  he  could  ex 
tend  it.  And  this  was  the  beginning  of  a  revival 
which  embraced  all  the  churches,  and  almost  every 
family  in  the  town  in  its  blessed  sweep.  And  all 
this  was  after  he  was  eighty  years  old,  and  so  infirm 


296  THE   HIGHER    CHRISTIAN    LIFE. 

that  his  children  thought  it  unsafe  for  him  to  keep 
up  his  home  and  live  apart  from  them. 

At  eighty-two  they  prevailed.  He  was  constrained 
to  yield  to  their  affectionate  urgency,  —  closed  his 
establishment,  sold  out,  and  went  to  make  home 
with  his  children.  Then,  in  another  town,  some 
forty  miles  from  his  former  residence,  he  was  thrown 
into  a  new  field,  —  not  of  rest,  as  his  children  had 
hoped,  but  of  activity  and  usefulness.  Looking 
about  him  he  saw  a  population  of  twenty-five  hun 
dred  or  more,  with  all  the  usual  church  privileges  to 
be  sure,  but  without  any  one  —  really  in  the  spirit 
of  Jesus  —  to  care  for  their  souls.  So  in  the  faith 
of  an  ever  present  Saviour,  he  girt  about  him  his 
coat,  put  on  his  India-rubbers,  filled  his  pockets  with 
tracts,  refreshed  his  spirit  at  the  foot  of  the  cross,  and 
started  out  on  foot  and  alone.  With  his  staff  in  his 
hand,  trembling  with  age,  he  went  from  house  to 
house,  here  again,  as  he  had  done  before,  in  his  for 
mer  abode,  until  here  again  he  had  entered  every 
habitation,  and  left  there  the  impressive  solemnity 
of  his  affectionate  warnings  and  importunate  suppli 
cations,  upon  the  ears  and  hearts  of  every  soul. 

In  this  instance  he  was  not  permitted  to  see  the 
fruits  of  his  work  in  a  general  revival  of  religion,  as 
in  the  other.  Not  however  because  it  did  not 
occur,  but  because  he  was  taken  home  to  his  man 
sion  and  to  his  Master  above,  before  the  seed  so 
abundantly  sown  by  his  hand  had  ripened  into  the 


HIS  LAST  WORK  ABROAD,  29? 

harvest.  His  last  visit  made,  his  last  prayer  offered, 
in  the  last  house  of  the  whole,  he  went  home  to  his 
daughter's  to  rest  for  the  night,  to  enter  next  day  as 
he  purposed,  upon  a  course  of  revisiting  such  fami 
lies  as  he  thought  his  services  most  needed  in. 

But  his  work  of  going  about  like  his  Master  to  do 
good  was  done.  He  lived  many  weeks,  but  went 
abroad  no  more  while  he  lived.  It  was  the  writer's 
privilege  to  see  him  in  his  room  after  this  but  some 
while  before  his  death.  The  interview  will  never 
be  forgotten.  The  bowed  and  shaking  form  of  the 
decrepid  but  noble  old  patriarch  made  an  impression 
not  to  be  effaced  by  time,  or  crowded  out  by  the  im 
ages  of  the  multitude  seen  since,  thronging  the  thor 
oughfare  of  life.  But  if  his  form  impressed,  his 
words  were  burned  in.  0  how  glowing!  How  more 
than  youthful,  almost  heavenly  in  their  vivacity  and 
energy.  They  were  all  life.  Jesus  had  indeed  giv 
en  him  life  in  another  sense  than  the  one  usually 
conveyed  by  the  word,  —  a  life  which  only  seemed 
the  more  intense  as  his  frame  wasted  and  chilled, 
and  grew  heavy  with  years. 

"  Ah  !  "  said  he,  "  for  twenty  years  now  I  have 
thought  it  would  be  nothing  to  die,  but  gain.  But 
I  did  not  know.  My  peace  was  made.  I  had  learn 
ed  also  that  Jesus  was  my  surety  and  trust  for  purity 
and  spotlessness  as  well  as  for  pardon.  I  was  ready 
-  all  ready,  and  waiting.  And  I  thought  that  at 
the  word,  in  a  moment,  when  the  summons  should 


298  THE   HIGHER    CHRISTIAN    LIFE. 

come,  I  could  joyously  strike  tent  and  away.  But 
no.  I  find  it  very  different.  Not  so  easy  as  I  sup 
posed.  " 

"  Ah !  How  is  that,  sir  ?  You  are  not  afraid 
to  die  ?  » 

"  No,  not  that !     Thank  God,  not  that !  " 

"  What  then,  sir  ?  " 

u  0,  my  brother,  it  is  not  striking  tent,  as  I  sup 
posed,  this  dying  is  not.  It  is  pulling  down  this 
old  house  rather  piece  by  piece ;  and  as  the  old  frame 
gives  way,  torn  brace  after  brace  and  timber  after 
timber,  apart,  it  is  terrible.  And  yet  even  in  this, 
thanks  be  to  God,  my  Saviour  is  with  me.  He  does 
not  forsake  me,  and  his  grace  is  sufficient  for  me. 
Sometimes  the  cry  will  rise  up,  If  it  be  possible,  let 
this  cup  pass  from  me.  Nevertheless,  again,  always 
the  cheerful  words,  Thy  will,  not  mine,  be  done, 
well  up  after  the  others,  and  all  is  hushed  and 
peaceful."  So  this  venerable  man  conversed,  while 
I  sat  charmed  at  his  feet. 

Now  what  was  it  gave  him  such  a  power  to  bring 
forth  fruit  in  old  age  ? 

Five  thousand  people  visited  after  he  was  fourscore 
years  old,  and  twenty-five  hundred  more  after  he  was 
fourscore  and  two.  What  was  the  power  ?  I  asked 
him.  He  told  me.  Let  his  words  to  me,  as  well  as 
I  can  remember  to  repeat  them,  reveal  his  secret  to  all. 

"  I  was  converted  young,  in  the  place  of  my  birth. 
For  forty  years  I  was  a  member  of  the  church,  and  a 


FORTY  YEAR'S  BARRENNESS.  299 

Christian,  too,  as  I  verily  believe,  without  ever  having 
been  the  means,  so  far,  as  I  know,  of  the  conversion  of 
one  soul,  and  that,  too,  through  all  the  prime  and  vigor 
of  my  youth  and  manhood,  from  twenty  to  sixty. 
Sometimes,  when  I  think  of  it,  I  am  overwhelmed 
with  grief  and  shame.  But  I  knew  no  better.  I  lived 
as  others  in  the  church  did.  Kept  up  all  the  duties 
of  religion  at  home  and  in  the  church  ;  kept  Sabbath, 
prayed,  read  my  Bible,  went  to  the  Lord's  table,  fasted 
when  fast  days  were  appointed,  and  sometimes  when 
they  were  not,  and  often  enjoyed  the  communion  of 
the  Spirit  and  the  fellowship  of  Christians,  and  the 
adoption  and  heirship  of  a  child  of  God ;  the  Spirit 
witnessing  with  my  spirit  that  God  was  my  Father ; 
thankful  in  prosperity,  sustained  in  adversity,  and 
comforted  always  by  a  good  hope  of  glory ;  and  yet,  as 
I  said,  never  in  all  that  forty  years,  so  far  as  I  know, 
the  means  of  saving  one  soul  —  (and  here  tears  stole 
down  his  furrowed  cheeks,  the  silent  witnesses  to  the 
sincerity  of  his  deep-toned  regrets,  and  as  he  proceed 
ed,  there  was  indescribable  impressiveness  in  his 
mannner  :  sweetness,  solemnity,  tenderness,  made  his 
words  thrill  the  heart-strings  like  an  angel  voice.) 

At  last,  when  I  was  sixty  years  old,  God  was 
pleased  to  visit  the  people  of  Utica,  where  I  lived,  in 
such  power  as  I  had  never  before  seen.  Hundreds 
and  hundreds  were  converted  —  some  from  amongst 
the  most  hardened  and  desperate  of  the  people,  and 
others  of  the  most  moral  and  regular.  There  was  a 


300  THE    HIGHEB   CHRISTIAN    LIFE. 

great  shaking,  too,  amongst  Christians.  Scores 
gave  up  hope ;  concluded  they  had  been  deceived, 
and  came  out  and  took  the  position  of  newly 
awakened  sinners,  inquiring  what  they  should  do  to 
be  saved.  I  myself  was  seized  with  conviction  — 
not  that  I  was  not  a  Christian,  but  that  I  was  a  use 
less  cumberer  of  the  church  ;  a  barren  fig-tree  in  the 
garden  of  God  ;  worse,  it  seemed  to  me,  than  any 
unconverted  sinner  in  the  world.  Forty  years  of 
the  prime  of  my  life  spent  in  the  church  and  in  the 
nominal  service  of  God,  and  jet  nothing  done  for 
the  cause  ;  not  one  soul  won  to  Jesus.  0,  the  thought 
was  too  bitter  too  bear.  It  bowed  me  down  as  the 
sturdy  oak  bows  under  the  power  of  the  tornado. 
Sometimes  it  seemed  as  if  it  would  kill  me  outright ; 
and  then  when  I  thought  to  make  amends  by  a  life 
devoted  earnestly  to  doing  good,  then  Satan  taunted 
me  with  the  idea  that  it  would  be  a  mockery  to 
offer  the  decrepid  and  broken  remnant  of  a  misspent 
life  to  God,  and  ask  Him  to  use  me  in  my  old  age  to 
save  others. 

But  he  could  not  keep  me  from  making  the  offer 
of  myself  to  the  Lord.  Now,  however,  the  struggle 
did  but  just  begin  ;  for  in  my  first  attempt  to  ben 
efit  others,  my  own  heart,  or  rather  want  of  heart, 
was  revealed  to  me,  and  in  the  next  effort  the  con 
viction  of  my  utter  unfitness  was  deepened,  and  so 
on  and  on,  until  the  weight  of  my  burden  was  not 
so  much  my  past  barrenness  as  my  present  unfitnes 
to  do  anything  more  than  I  had  done  in  the  past. 


SALVATION  LEFT    IN  RIGHT  HANDS.  301 

Then  came  the  temptation  to  stop,  and  say,  <  Ah  ! 
I  am  not  fit  to  do  anything  for  God  ;  I  was  not  made 
for  it ;  and  if  I  was,  I  have  lived  so  long  without 
using  and  improving  my  talent,  that  it  has  grown 
rusty  —  too  rusty  ever  to  be  used.'  Satan  here, 
again,  often  taunted  me,  saying,  Too  old  to  change ! 
Fool  to  think  of  it !  But  he  did  not  stop  me.  My 
convictions  were  too  deep  ;  my  burden  too  great ;  I 
could  not  stop.  The  thought  of  it  was  worse 
than  the  thought  of  death.  And  then  something 
whispered  hope  to  me,  and  I  determined  never  to 
stop.  Then  I  cried  unto  God,  in  my  distress,  to 
give  me  His  Spirit  and  strengthen  me  for  His  ser 
vice.  But  I  cannot  tell  you  the  hundredth  part  of 
my  struggles  and  troubles.  Resolutions  proved 
vain,  and  cries  for  the  Holy  Spirit  no  better,  until 
at  last,  one  day,  for  the  first  time  in  my  life,  I  saw 
that  the  work  of  making  my  heart  right,  and  keep 
ing  it  right  for  the  work  of  the  Lord,  was  Christ's, 
by  his  own  presence  in  the  power  of  the  Holy  Ghost, 
not  mine  at  all.  Christ's  to  save,  mine  to  trust  and 
to  serve. 

From  that  hour  I  left  the  Saviour's  work  in  His 
hands  to  do,  and  looked  to  Him  to  do  it,  in  the 
fullest  confidence  that  He  would ;  rejoiced  that  it  was 
in  such  good  hands  —  so  trustworthy,  loving  and 
true  —  and  I  was  not  disappointed.  From  that  hour 
I  found  it  easy  to  wear  the  yoke  and  to  bear  the 
cross ;  and  to  the  praise  of  God's  own  condescending 


302  THE   HIGHER   CHRISTIAN  LIFE. 

love  be  it  said,  He  has  blessed  me  in  His  service  and 
prospered  me  in  the  work  given  me  to  do.  Josus 
has  been  with  me  every  day,  now  these  twenty-two 
years  ;  and  every  day  I  have  done,  in  my  imperfect 
way,  just  the  work  of  the  day,  as  my  Saviour  has 
laid  it  out  for  me.  And  one  thing  I  can  tell  you, 
my  brother,  if  I  have  been  the  instrument  of  good, 
it  has  been  the  Lord  with  me  and  the  Lord  within 
me  who  has  done  it,  and  not  I.  If  the  truth  con 
cerning  Jesus  has  been  in  me,  a  well  of  water  spring 
ing  up  into  eternal  life,  and  a  fountain  from  which 
streams  of  life  have  flowed  forth,  I  have  been  no 
more  than  the  earthen  pitcher  which  carries  the 
water,  or  the  iron  pipe  which  conducts  it.  The 
power  is  of  God.  To  God  be  all  the  glory.  He 
alone  is  worthy  to  receive  honor  and  power,  and 
might  and  dominion  ;  and  He  alone  shall  have  it 
forever  and  ever,  Amen." 


Such  was  the  story  of  this  aged  disciple,  ten  times 
over  more  touching  and  impressive  from  his  tremb 
ling  lips,  and  sunlit  tear-bedewed  face,  and  speaking 
eyes,  than  from  the  cold  pen  that  writes  it. 

As  he  ceased,  reflections  and  questions  came 
crowding  up  ;  but  a  moment  only  was  left  before  the 
car-whistle  must  be  obeyed,  and  the  venerable  man 
left  to  the  quiet  and  peace  of  solitary  but  blessed 
waiting  for  his  summons  in  turn. 

Some  word  was  dropped   about  it,  and  the  old 


THE  DEPOT  AND  THE  SUMMONS.        303 

man's  thoughts  flew  onward  and  upward.  "  Ah, 
yes,"  said  he,  "  this  is  my  depot ;  I  have  come  to  it 
at  last.  Here  I  am,  and  here  I  wait.  How  long, 
my  Father  in  heaven  only  knows.  But  not  long. 
The  bell  will  soon  ring  —  the  rush  and  roar  of  the 
train  will  soon  be  heard  —  the  sound  of  invisi 
ble  pinions.  The  summons  will  be  given.  Not  in 
the  shrill  voice  of  the  steam-whistle,  but  in  the  voice 
of  angel  song,  or  sweeter  still  in  the  voice  of  Him 
whose  words  are  as  the  sound  of  many  waters,  and 
as  the  sound  of  tens  of  thousands  of  harpers,  harp 
ing  with  their  harps.  Ah,  I  long  to  hear  it ;  I  long 
to  see  my  Redeemer ;  I  long  to  be  with  Him  where 
He  is,  and  behold  His  glory." 

0,  what  a  lustre,  as  of  heaven  reflected,  shone  in 
his  face  !  Within  myself  I  said,  Happy,  happy, 
happy  man  !  Thou  indeed  hast  found  not  the  fabled, 
but  the  true  fountain  of  life  !  Thou  hast  stooped 
and  drank  of  its  waters,  and  eternal  youth  is 
thine  !  I  could  almost,  without  qualification,  have 
applied  to  him  the  prophetic  address  to  the  Messiah, 
then  yet  to  come,  made  by  the  Psalmist  hundreds  of 
years  before  His  coming,  "  From  the  womb  of  the 
morning  thou  hast  the  dew  of  thy  youth."  So 
youthful  was  the  spirit,  so  full  of  the  freshness  of 
hope  and  the  vivacity  of  joy,  that  still  lingered  and 
clung  to  the  old  tenement  of  clay. 

To  me  he  seemed  like  a  young  and  beautiful 
bride,  brought  by  her  beloved  and  loving  spouse 
into  an  old  mansion,  crumbling  into  dust,  and  ready 


304  THE  HIGHER   CHRISTIAN   LIFE. 

to  tumble  before  the  first  gust  that  should  come,  but 
brought  there  only  to  wait  until  the  new  and  noble 
mansion,  built  and  furnished  by  the  hand  of  provi 
dent  love,  should  be  ready  to  receive  her  ;  and  she, 
ready  by  contrast  to  appreciate  it,  when  the  time 
for  "  flitting  "  should  come. 

But  that  which  impressed  itself  most  deeply  of 
all,  was  the  contrast  between  the  forty  years  of  bar 
renness,  the  forty  best  years  of  his  life  —  from 
twenty  to  sixty  —  and  the  twenty-two  years,  the  two 
last  years  above  all  of  such  noble  fruitage  to  God. 
Forty  years  without  the  known  conversion  of  one 
single  soul,  from  his  influence,  and  the  two  years 
after  he  was  eighty,  hundreds  converted.  Ah  !  here 
was  a  contrast  to  be  pondered  well  by  one  like  me. 

And  the  cause  of  it  too.  Faith  —  the  faith 
which  accepted  the  command  —  Go  ye  ! —  that  em 
phatic  first  clause  of  the  great  commission  —  Go  ye  ! 
and  obeyed  it.  And  the  faith  which  accepted  also 
the  promise  in  both  aspects  —  the  present  and  the 
future  —  Lo  !  I  AM  with  you  always,  and  Lo  !  THOU 
SHALT  be  with  me  where  I  am  to  behold  my  glory. 

His  was  the  faith  already  spoken  of  before  —  the 
faith  which  gives  all  and  takes  all,  and  therefore  has 
all  —  and  all  in  Christ  —  whom  having,  there  is 
nothing  more  it  can  ask. 

In  parting  with  the  venerable  brother  beloved  and 
father  revered,  one  word  was  dropped  to  try  him  as 
to  the  source  of  his  complacency,  whether  it  was  in 


THE  CELESTIAL  TRAIN.  305 

himself  or  in  Christ.  May  it  be  forgiven  if  even  in 
the  slightest  shade  of  appearance  it  was  wanting 
either  in  sincerity  or  respect. 

Grasping  his  hand  with  the  warmth  of  true  admi 
ration  and  love,  (  he  returned  it  with  interest, )  I 
said,  "Well  father,  I  must  leave  you  to  wait  here  in 
your  depot  for  the  celestial  train  that  will  take  you 
home  to  glory,  and  go  myself  to  meet  the  earthly  train 
that  carries  me  back  to  my  field  of  toil.  You  are  all 
ready,  and  waiting. "  This  was  said  in  the  deepest 
sincerity,  and  the  response  was,  "  Yes,  thank  God, 
all  ready.  Ready,  and  longing  for  the  summons.  " 

"  You  have  done  so  much  for  the  Master  and  his 
cause,  and  experienced  so  much,  that  you  will  not 
be  ashamed  to  meet  him  and  be  ushered  into  the 
presence  of  the  Father  and  of  the  holy  angels.  " 

Looking  me  earnestly  in  the  face,  while  a  shade  of 
sadness  and  surprise  came  over  the  brightness  of  his 
countenance,  he  grasped  my  hand  and  pressed  it 
more  warmly  than  ever,  and  then  placing  it  between 
his  two,  as  if  to  impress  the  truth  upon  me  with  a 
double  power  of  pathos,  he  answered  : 

"  No  !  No,  my  son,  not  that !  not  THAT  !  All  I 
have  done  is  nothing  —  all  I  have  experienced 
nothing.  I  am  nothing.  My  righteousness  is  as 
filthy  rags  —  at  best  no  better  than  the  torn,  tatter 
ed,  defiled,  crossed,  condemned  notes  of  a  broken 
bank.  It  would  be  an  insult  to  offer  it.  It  would 
be  madness  to  trust  to  it.  No !  no !  no  !  my  son ! 


306  THE   HIGHER   CHRISTIAN   LIFE. 

Thank  God  I  have  a  better  hope.  Jesus  is  mine  and 
I  am  his  —  and  that  is  enough.  He  who  has  been 
with  me  through  every  trial  in  life  will  be  with  me 
in  death.  His  grace  will  suffice.  I  shall  not  be 
ashamed  to  meet  him,  for  he  has  bought  me  with 
his  blood,  and  sealed  me  by  his  Spirit.  And  I  shall 
not  be  ashamed  to  go  into  the  presence  of  his  Father 
and  my  Father,  for  he  will  change  me  into  his  own 
heavenly  image  of  spotless  glory,  and  being 
like  him  I  shall  be  like  all  who  are  His.  Jesus  is  all 
in  all.  Good  by  —  may  Jesus  go  with  you,  and 
be  with  you  evermore.  " 
So  we  parted. 


CHAPTER    VII. 


GATHERING  POWER  OF  THE  CHURCH  FORESHADOWED. 

INSTANCES  like  the  octogenarian,  with  the  dew  of 
his  youth,  and  more  than  the  vigor  of  his  prime  ; 
and  like  Carvosso,  made  eminent  by  grace ;  and 
the  African  woman,  greater  in  her  poverty  and  sick 
ness  than  the  Hon.  Judge  in  his  health  and  his 
wealth,  are  types  —  very  imperfect  ones,  certainly  — 
foreshadowing  the  power  and  blessedness  of  the  whole 
church  of  the  future. 

Happily,  too,  the  growing  shadow  of  the  incoming 
glory,  indicates  the  time  when  all  shall  have  the  ful 
ness  of  this  experimental  knowledge  of  Jesus,  as  at 
hand. 

There  is  one  movement  of  the  times  which  must 
strike  every  reflective  observer  ;  it  is  the  process  of 
POPULARIZATION.  God,  hi  his  providence,  is  spread 
ing  the  treasures  of  knowledge  and  power  amongst 
the  people.  Everything,  in  every  department  of  human 
acquisition,  which  has  hitherto  been  kept  within  the 
narrow  circle  of  the  limited  few,  God  is  now  opening 

307 


308  THE  HIGHER  CHRISTIAN  LIFE. 

out  to  the  million.  He  is  making  the  masses  rich  ; 
lifting  them  up ;  and  ennobling  them  in  every  ele 
ment  of  true  greatness.  There  are  'prentice  boys, 
this  day,  who  know  more  than  Franklin  did  of  the 
workings  of  the  fiery  fluid,  brought  down  from  the 
clouds  by  him,  and  had  they  lived  in  his  time  and 
known  what  they  now  know,  their  memories  would 
be  lifted  up  to  lofty  niches  in  the  temple  of  fame. 

Many  a  lad  in  the  Engine  works,  taking  the  early 
lessons  of  his  trade,  knows  more  of  the  power  and 
application  of  steam  than  Watt  or  Fulton  knew ; 
and  many  a  school-boy  is  better  acquainted  with  the 
order,  numbers,  magnitudes,  distances,  motions  and 
laws  of  the  heavenly  bodies  than  Copernicus. 
Really,  these  school-boys  and  'prentices  are  greater, 
in  these  elements  of  greatness,  than  Franklin, 
Watt,  Fulton  and  Copernicus. 

Knowledge  is  popularized,  and  knowledge  is 
power.  But  the  best  of  all  knowledge  is  the  knowl 
edge  of  Jesus,  and  the  greatest  of  all  powers  is  the 
power  of  God  through  faith  in  Jesus,  and  this  know 
ledge  and  power  are  being  popularized. 

The  question  is  often  asked,  Why  does  not  God 
raise  up  some  Whitefield  or  Luther  in  our  day  ? 

The  answer  is,  He  is  raising  up  a  multitude  of 
Whitefields  and  Luthers.  He  will  have  all  men  to 
be  Kings  and  Priests.  The  same  great  truths  which 
made  Luther  and  Whitefield  great,  will  soon  make 
the  whole  church  of  Christ  upon  earth,  a  church  of 


LIGHT  AND  LIGHTNING  OUR  SERVANTS.  309 

Whitefields.and  Luthers  ; — if  not  in  intellect  and 
eloquence,  yet  in  living  union  with  Jesus,  which 
was  the  greatest  and  noblest  endowment  of  these 
noble  men. 

This  popularizing  process  is  universal.  It  goes 
forward  in  everything.  Not  alone  in  the  utilities, 
but  in  the  luxuries  and  elegancies  of  life.  "  Costly 
apparel,"  such  as  once  must  be  sought  alone  in  king's 
palaces,  finds  its  way  now  into  the  cottage.  Silks, 
satins,  broadcloths  —  where  will  you  not  find  them  ? 
The  servant  does  not  wait  now  for  the  cast-off  cloth 
ing  of  master  or  mistress,  but  buys  new  from  the 
shop,  more  showy,  if  less  costly,  than  their  employ 
ers  wear.  Gold  chains,  once  the  ornaments  of  the 
princes  of  Mammon,  now  festoon  the  persons  of  the 
servants  of  tradesmen.  Travel  —  formerly  the  rare 
privilege  of  the  favored  few  —  is  now  enjoyed  beyond 
the  sea,  to  countries  remote,  by  flitting,  migrating 
myriads  ;  while  at  home,  the  whole  people,  drones 
only  excepted,  like  bees  of  the  hive,  sip  nectar  and 
gather  manna  from  every  flower,  and  every  pool 
too,  alas,  in  the  land.  Coach  and  livery  are  dis 
tanced  out  of  sight,  and  almost  driven  from  the 
track  by  the  iron-horse  and  his  train  ;  and  he  and 
his  owners  care  little  who  rides  and  pays  ;  whether 
plebian  or  prince.  Even  the  light  and  the  lightning 
are  harnessed  in  for  this  process  of  popularization. 
Turned  artist,  the  light  paints  our  likeness  in  a  few 
seconds  for  a  few  cents,  with  a  truthfulness  which, 


310  THE  HIGHER  CHRISTIAN  LIFE. 

if  it  does  not  flatter  like  the  pencil,  never  lies.  And 
so  it  comes  about  that  these  fac-similes  of  our  loved 
ones,  ere-while  the  rare  and  treasured  ornaments  of 
mansions  and  palaces  only,  are  now  piled  up  in 
every  cottage.  And  the  lightning,  tamed  and  taught 
—  not  the  English  —  but  a  universal  language,  is 
turned  spokesman  for  the  world ;  and  soon,  if  not 
already,  will  so  speak  as  to  be  heard,  whether  in  be 
half  of  king  or  peasant,  the  whole  world  over  in  a 
single  moment  of  time.  It  is,  therefore,  just  in  har 
mony  with  this  universal  movement,  that  God  is 
also  popularizing  the  deeper  and  sweeter  knowledge 
of  Jesus. 

A  scene  occurred  one  morning  in  far-famed  Old 
South,  Boston,  in  the  morning-meeting  in  the  chapel, 
too  natural  to  be  noticed  as  at  all  extraordinary  by 
the  attendants  at  that  precious  daily  reunion. 
At  the  close  of  the  meeting,  after  the  sound  of  the 
Doxology  had  ceased  its  hallowed  vibrations,  as  the 
people  were  greeting  each  other,  and  leaving  the 
chapel,  two  of  the  venerable  men  always  occupying 
the  front  seats,  with  their  ear-trumpets  upturned  to 
catch  every  word,  arose  and  greeted  each  other. 
One  placed  his  trumpet  to  his  ear,  and  turned  up  its 
broad  mouth  toward  his  stooping  white-headed  com 
panion.  The  other,  bending  down  and  almost  bury 
ing  his  face  in  the  open  mouth  of  the  trumpet,  with 
a  slow,  loud,  waiting  utterance,  said,  "  Well  — 
brother  —  we  have  been  long  —  meditating  —  think 


PRAYING    IN    JESUS.  311 

ing  —  trying  —  to  find  out  how  —  this  divine  life  — 
could  be  best  promoted  —  in  the  soul  —  and  —  we 
shall  get  it  yet !  Yes,  we  shall  find  it  yet !  " 

"  0,  yes,  yes  !  We  shall  —  we  shall !  "  was  the  an 
swer. 

Yes.  Yes,  venerable  Father !  Even  so.  You 
will  very  soon.  The  Master  will  soon  call  for  you 
and  then  you  shall  see  Him,  and  He  is  the  "  best 
ivay,"  the  only  way.  God  grant,  however,  even 
now,  before  ye  shall  go  hence,  that  Jesus  may  reveal 
himself  to  you  as  the  best  way. 

In  that  same  assembly,  a  moment  before  its  break 
ing  up,  a  fair-haired  youth  arose  and  said,  "  Dear 
brethren,  help  me  to  praise  God  !  I  have  found  the 
way  !  Jesus  is  the  way  !  He  is  mine  and  I  am 
his  !  He  is  complete,  and  I  am  complete  in  him  !  " 

Here  were  the  venerable  Fathers  feeling  after 
the  better  way,  and  here  was  the  child  in  it  already, 
happy  and  satisfied. 

Leaving  that  sacred  place  and  falling  in  with  one 
of  the  dispersing  worshippers,  —  "  Ah  my  Brother," 
—  so  was  the  greeting,  —  "  You  seem  to  understand 
that  Christ  is  all  in  all.  Your  remarks  show  that 
you  are  in  the  light.  " 

"  Ah  yes  Brother.  Those  words  of  Dudley  Tyng 
stand  up  for  Jesus,  —  and  those  other  words,  'Pray 
ing  IN  Jesus  '  —  as  his  father  has  published  them 
to  the  world,  came  home  to  me  like  a  new  revelation. 
I  have  long  been  a  Christian,  and  an  active  one,  but 
the  life  hidden  with  Christ  in  God,  I  never  under- 


312  THE   HIGHER  CHRISTIAN    LIFE. 

stood  till  then  ;  but  since  then  my  views  have  been 
all  new,  and  the  fire  has  burned  in  my  heart  as  it 
never  did  before.  " 

Introduced  to  one  in  the  meridian  of  life,  who  has 
been  many  years  bearing  his  part  in  a  prominent  city 
church,  he  began  talking  of  Jesus  and  what  the  Sav 
iour  had  done  for  him.  "  0  His  ways  are  wonderful ! 
He  has  dealt  with  me  in  great  wisdom  and  mercy," 
said  he.  "  I  had  a  lovely  wife.  She  was  the  sun 
shine  of  the  house  —  and  we  were  the  happiest  fam 
ily  in  the  world  —  so  we  used  to  think  and  say. 
But  God  came  and  took  my  wife  away.  My  chil 
dren  felt  it  deeply.  I  was  inconsolable  —  all  sum 
mer  I  went  mourning  and  bowed  down.  Life  was  a 
dreary  waste.  I  thought  I  should  go  down  in  sor 
row  to  the  grave.  But  I  was  led  to  make  a  new 
covenant  with  the  Lord,  and  somehow,  I  can  hardly 
tell  how,  Jesus  manifested  himself  to  me  as  the  way, 
and  now  all  was  new  to  me.  The  Bible  was  new. 
The  Christian  life  was  new.  The  world  was  new 
And  I  am  happier  now  than  I  ever  have  been  in  all 
my  life  —  happy  in  Jesus.  " 

And  he  is  not  alone  in  his  church.  Others 
too,  have  come  out  in  the  same  fulness  of  light. 
And  yet  others  are  feeling  for  it. 

After  an  address  to  S.  S.  Teachers,  closing  with 
the  thought  that  the  well-spring  of  power  to  the 
workers  for  Jesus  is  union  —  an  abiding  union  with 
Him. 


MANY  INQUIRING.  313 

"  That  is  it !  That  is  it !  "  said  one  of  their  num 
ber.  "  That  is  the  very  thing.  0  for  that  living 
union  with  Jesus.  " 

At  the  parlor  fire-side,  half  an  hour  later,  in  the 
sweet  home  of  another  of  the  teachers  addressed. 
"You  touched  the  spring  of  all  power,  "  said  he,  "in 
the  closing  remark.  " 

"  Yes,"  responded  his  excellent  companion,  "  I 
have  felt  it  for  years,  and  longed  to  have  the  experi 
ence  of  it  myself.  My  husband  has  been  deeply  in 
terested  a  few  months  now,  and  now  do  tell  us. 
How  is  it  ?  " 

Here  too,  another  yearning  heart  was  found,  — 
one  who  is  a  missionary  among  the  Indians.  She 
had  left  home,  and  friends  and  all,  to  go  and  tell 
the  Indians  of  Jesus. 

Her  life  was  laid  thus  a  living  sacrifice  upon 
God's  altar.  She  had  tried  the  work  and  loved  it, 
and  longed  to  be  worthy  of  it.  And  now,  while 
home  on  a  visit,  hearing  one  and  another  speak  of  a 
new  and  higher  experience,  she  grasped  at  it  in  a 
moment,  as  what  she  needed  to  satisfy  the  cravings 
of  her  own  soul,  and  also  to  give  her  a  higher  power 
of  usefulness  in  her  mission. 

"  Tell  me, "  said  she,  "  all  about  it.  I  must  have 
it,  but  how  ?  It  is  wrapped  all  up  in  mystery  to  me. 
I  long  to  have  it  explained.  " 

In  another  place,  one  who  has  been  some  while 
enlightened,  and  been  a  living  witness,  testifying  the 


314  THE   HIGHER   CHRISTIAN  LIFE. 

things  that  Jesus  had  done  for  her,  and  how  precious 
he  was  to  her  every  day,  and  all  the  time,  said,  — 
"  Come  and  see  us.  There  will  be  gathered  at  our 
house  to-morrow  evening,  the  parlors  full  of  those, 
either  recently  come  out  into  the  fulness  of  faith, 
or  seeking  instruction  as  to  the  way.  " 

These  are  the  incidents  of  a  few  hours,  and  they 
are  given  to  show  a  little  of  what  comes  to  the  sur 
face  in  the  view  of  a  single  observer,  of  the  great 
work,  going  on,  deep  down  in  the  solid  and  substan 
tial  stratum  of  the  church,  hidden  almost  entirely 
from  the  eye  even  of  the  Christian  world. 

So  God  is  popularizing  this  union  —  this  abiding 
vital  union  of  Christians  with  Christ. 

So  also,  is  it  in  the  field  of  activities  as  well. 

The  attentive  observer  cannot  fail  to  see  that  the 
church  is  in  the  transition  of  a  new  phase  of  its  life 
and  power.  The  Phillips  and  Stephens  are  mul 
tiplying  ;  but  what  is  most  remarkable  is  to  see 
the  privilege  of  actual  usefulness  grasped  by  so 
many  who  have  thought  hitherto  they  could  do 
nothing.  Young  men,  business  men,  maidens, 
mothers,  clerks,  apprentices,  journeymen,  firemen, 
and  even  those  who  have  run  after  the  firemen  — - 
in  some  instances  outstripping  even  the  watchmen 
on  the  walls  —  and  this  increasing  every  day. 

Prayer  and  exhortation  come  from  the  lips  of 
those  in  all  grades  of  the  church,  from  the  youngest 
to  the  oldest,  and  in  the  tones  and  words  of  glowing 


THE  SECRET  SPRING  OF  POWER.  315 

hearts  and  fire-touched  lips.  The  old  man  no 
longer  says,  "  I  am  a  dry  tree,  I  cannot  bear  fruit." 
The  youth  no  longer  says,  "  I  am  untutored,  I  can- 
iiot  speak."  The  business  man  has  ceased  to  plead, 
u  I  am  busy,  I  cannot  spare  time."  All  come 
up,  and  all  come  up  to  the  help  of  the  Lord.  This 
at  least  is  the  tendency  of  the  present,  and  in  this 
there  is  a  prophecy,  that  all  will  come  up  in  the  fu 
ture  at  hand,  if  they  do  not  already. 

And  0,  of  the  power  the  church  will  have  then, 
we  can  form  no  conception  !  Isolated  cases  of  the 
power  of  abiding  union  with  Jesus  and  its  blessed 
abundant  fruits,  do  certainly  give  some  idea  of  indi 
vidual  power  ;  but  then  these  are  isolated  cases,  and 
isolation  is  weakness,  combination  is  power. 

A  thousand  grains  of  powder,  or  a  thousand  bar 
rels  if  you  please,  scattered  a  grain  in  a  place  and 
fired  at  intervals,  would  burn  it  is  true,  but  would 
produce  no  concussion.  Placed  together,  however, 
in  effective  position,  they  would  lift  up  a  mountain 
and  cast  it  into  the  sea.  Even  so  the  whole  church 
filled  with  faith  and  fired  by  the  Holy  One  who  gave 
the  tongues  of  fire  on  the  day  of  Pentecost,  will  re 
move  every  mountain,  fill  up  every  valley,  cast  up 
the  way  of  the  Lord,  and  usher  in  the  jubilee  of 
Redemption. 

Something  of  this  power  we  may  see  in  such 
instances  as  the  great  awakening. 

What  was  the  secret  spring  touched  by  the  Lord 


316  THE    HIGHER    CHRISTIAN   LIFE. 

a  hundred  years  ago  to  throw  open  the  doors  for  the 
reception  of  Jesus  by  the  tens  of  thousands  then 
converted  to  God  ?  Just  this  very  experience  of 
full  salvation  in  the  leaders  and  others. 

What  was  it  by  which  the  Lord  prepared  Ed 
wards,  the  Wesleys,  and  Whitefield,  to  herald  the 
blessed  Jesus  to  the  multitudes  with  such  simplicity 
and  power  ?  Just  this  very  experience  of  full  salva 
tion. 

What  was  it  that  gave  Luther  power  to  break 
his  own  Koman  fetters,  and  become  the  champion  of 
the  free  ?  Just  this  experience  of  the  power  of  Je 
sus  in  him  for  full  salvation. 

What  was  it  that  gave  the  apostles  power  to 
come  forth  into  the  light  themselves,  and  shed  the 
light  in  such  effulgence  upon  a  benighted  world  ? 
Christ  the  Sun  of  Righteousness  risen  in  their  own 
souls. 

And  if  in  the  past  this  has  wrought  such  glorious 
things  by  the  few,  and  the  isolated,  0,  what  will  it 
not  work  when  it  shall  pass  'into  the  experience  of 
all? 

Christ  in  the  church,  walking  in  invisible  power 
amongst  the  golden  candlesticks, — Christ  seen  by  the 
faith  which  is  the  evidence  of  things  not  seen  — 
Mighty  to  save ! 

And  the  world  seen  in  its  guilt  and  peril ! 

Death  at  hand.  The  Judgment  near.  Heaven 
and  Hell  —  with  the  impassable  gulf  between  — 


GREETINGS  OF  THE  FUTURE.         3  IT 

opening  to  receive  the  crowding  multitudes  who  are 
hasting  onward ! 

Ah!  When  these  great  realities  shall  become  the 
realities  of  living  experimental  apprehension,  then 
will  the  church  arise  for  the  conquest,  and  then 
shall  the  battle  be  fought  and  the  victory  won. 

There  is  one  way  in  which  we  may  shadow,  dimly 
to  ourselves,  the  power  of  the  church,  then.  Sup 
pose  every  church  in  the  world  revived  at  the  same 
moment,  greetings  from  the  north  and  from  the 
south  and  from  the  east  and  the  west,  coming  in 
from  every  city  and  town  and  hamlet  and  habita 
tion,  "  The  Lord  is  here  !  "  "  The  Lord  is  here  !  " 
Then  suppose  that  to  go  on  from  year's  end  to  year's 
end  unceasingly  —  no  longer  in  spasms,  chills  and 
fevers  no  more  alternating,  but  ever  and  ever  the 
Lord  working  His  works  ;  sinners  seeking  and  find 
ing  the  Saviour  ;  Jesus  the  hope  of  glory  —  every 
man's  theme  ! 

Ah  !     That  would  be  glorious  ! 

But  even  then,  you  must  add  the  higher  element 
of  power.  Jesus  our  sanctification,  filling  every 
man's  cup  of  blessedness  to  overflowing,  before  the 
picture  is  complete. 

When  Jesus  was  on  the  earth  in  person,  and  the 
people  saw  him  with  their  eyes,  and  heard  him  with 
their  ears,  they  thronged  him,  and  wondered  at  all 
his  mighty  works.  Then  he  was  only  in  one  place 
at  a  time.  The  economy  of  God  for  the  future  is 


318  THE    HIGHER   CHRISTIAN  LIFE. 

that  of  the  presence  of  Jesus  in  all  the  plentitude 
of  his  grace  and  power  in  every  place  at  the  same 
time  ;  working  works  of  salvation  more  wonderful 
than  miracles,  and  his  presence  realized  by  faith  so 
that  it  is  really  substantial ;  that  is  actual. 

In  the  days  of  His  flesh,  even  his  disciples  failed 
to  understand  the  nature  of  His  kingdom  and  the 
glory  of  His  designs.  God's  economy  for  us  in  the  fu 
ture  is  that  we  shall  he  strengthened  with  might  in 
our  hearts,  that  Christ  may  dwell  in  us  by  faith  ;  that 
we,  being  rooted  and  grounded  in  love,  may  be  able 
with  all  saints  to  comprehend  the  length  and  breadth 
and  depth  and  height,  and  to  know  the  love  of 
Christ,  which  passeth  knowledge,  and  to  be  filled 
with  all  the  fulness  of  God. 

Then,  when  this  is  the  status  of  universal  expe 
rience,  and  when  Christ  is  realized  as  present  in 
every  church,  working  in  power,  not  limited  by  un 
belief,  as  it  was  in  the  days  of  His  flesh,  and  when 
the  cry  of  every  church  is,  The  Lord  is  with  us ! 
The  Lord  is  with  us  !  and  the  glory  of  every  soul  is 
Christ  the  hope  of  glory  —  then  will  the  church 
come  up  to  its  normal  state  and  to  its  predicted 
efficiency.  And  then  a  short  work  the  Lord  will 
make  of  it  in  the  earth.  For  then  he  who  stands 
out  against  the  power  of  truth  and  grace  will  soon 
be  cut  off  by  the  righteous  hand  of  unsparing  judg 
ment.  Amen.  Even  so  come  Lord  Jesus.  Come 
quickly.  Amen  and  Amen. 


CHAPTER    VIII. 


CLOSING   COUNSELS  AND  PARTING  WORDS. 
THE  WAY  OF  PROGRESS.       DANGERS  AND  DIFFICULTIES. 

A  FOURTH  PART  should,  of  right,  be  added,  if  our 
limits  were  not  already  reached.  Many  practical 
questions  of  deep  and  general  interest,  such  as 
growth  in  grace,  discipline,  temptations,  self-exami 
nation,  watching  and  prayer,  reading,  study  of  the 
Scriptures,  methods  of  doing  good,  and  the  like, 
might  well  form  the  conclusion  of  a  work  upon  ex 
perimental  religion. 

However,  if  we  must  leave  these  topics  untouched, 
it  is  a  consolation  to  know,  that  whoso  shall  find 
Christ  in  His  fulness,  and  dwell  in  Him,  will  have 
in  Him,  and  in  His  Word,  and  His  Spirit,  counsel 
and  strength  which  no  work  of  man  —  no  human, 
hand  or  human  heart  could  give. 

At  best,  authors  or  ministers,  are  but  like  the 
finger  and  the  tongue  of  John  the  Baptist  pointing 
to  Jesus  —  always  present  —  as  the  Lamb  of  God 
that  taketh  away  the  sin  of  the  world. 

319 


320  THE  HIGHER   CHRISTIAN  LIFE. 

We  must  get  beyond  the  minister,  however  wise 
and  good  he  may  be  ;  and  beyond  the  book,  howev 
er  full  and  clear  its  teachings,  to  find  Jesus.  The 
Song  of  Songs,  which  is  Solomon's,  gives  the  truth 
in  words  of  honied  sweetness,  when  the  bride  is 
made  to  say, 

"  I  sought  him  but  I  found  him  not : 
"  I  will  arise  now  and  go  about  the  city  in  the  streets, 
"  And  in  the  broad  ways  I  will  seek  him  whom  my  soul 
loveth : 

"  I  sought  him  but  I  found  him  not. 

"  The  watchmen  that  go  about  the  city  found  me  :  — 

"  To  whom  I  said,  Saw  ye  him  whom  my  soul  loveth  ? 

"It  was  but  a  little  that  I  passed  from  them, ; 

"  But  I  found  him  whom  my  soul  loveth. 

"  I  held  him  and  would  not  let  him  go." 

Ah  !  when  we  find  him,  and  while  we  will  not  let 
him  go  there  is  safety,  progress,  happiness,  useful 
ness,  for  us.  Satan  cannot  lay  hold  on  us. 

A  little  child,  who  was  told  by  her  mother  that  the 
tempter  could  not  get  her,  because  Jesus  would  be 
with  her,  answered,  "  Why,  mother,  I  am  in 
Jesus!" 

We  are  in  Jesus,  if  we  abide  in  him. 

Therefore  it  is  that  exhortations  may  be  dispensed 
with,  because  abiding  in  Jesus  we  shall  be  watchful 
and  prayerful,  diligent  and  faithful,  secure  from  the 
adversary  and  cheerful  as  the  lark. 

Like  jets  and  chandeliers  connected  by  hidden 


DIM     LINE  OF  UNCERTAINTY  LEFT  BEHIND.        321 

pipes  with  the  great  meter  at  the  works,  our  light 
will  burn  on,  and  shine  evermore,  because  Christ  is 
our  unfailing  fountain  head. 

He  in  whom  Christ  dwells  by  faith  will  pray  with 
all  prayer  and  without  ceasing,  because  prayer  has 
become  his  vital  breath  ;  and  like  the  beating  of  his 
heart  and  the  heaving  of  his  lungs,  his  soul  will  go 
out  in  prayer  and  praise,  spontaneously  without  the 
lashings  of  conscience  and  the  urgencies  of  duty. 
Songs  in  the  night  will  come  welling  up  from  the 
overflowing  joys  of  his  heart ;  and  his  very  dreams 
will  take  on  heavenly  hues  and  shapes. 

He  will  be  active.  The  spirit  in  him  will  be  love  ; 
a  constraining  fire  in  his  bones ;  he  cannot  but  be 
active.  He  will  be  generous.  If  he  abide  in 
Christ,  —  who,  though  rich,  for  our  sakes  became 
poor,  —  himself  the  free  gift  of  God  to  us  —  he 
cannot  but  give  freely  for  his  Master  and  his  Mas 
ter's  cause. 

He  will  grow  in  grace  ;  for  he  has  a  living  union 
with  Him  who  is  full  of  grace  and  truth  ;  and  from 
Him  he  will  receive  grace  for  grace. 

He  will  have  no  longer  occasion  to  examine  him 
self  to  see  whether  he  is  a  Christian  at  all  or  not 
saying  and  singing  the  mournful  strain, 

"  Oft  it  causes  anxious  thought ; 
Am  I  his  or  am  I  not  ?  " 

For  he  will  have  left  the  dim  line  of  uncertainty 
so  far  behind  in  his  race,  that  his  days  of  groping 


322  THE   HIGHER   CHRISTIAN  LIFE. 

will  be  ended  forever.  His  examinations  will  be 
to  see  whether  he  is  "  in  the  faith  :  "  abiding  in  Je 
sus  :  not  lifted  up,  not  turned  aside,  but  in  the  ful 
ness  of  the  faith. 

He  will  press  for  the  mark ;  for  every  day  the 
mark  of  the  prize  will  brighten  and  swell  out 
toward  the  proportions  of  an  actual  presence,  a  sub 
stantial  verity ;  and  every  day  his  urgency  will 
accelerate,  as  on  eagle  wing  he  mounts  up  toward 
the  goal  of  hope. 

But  what  is  it  to  abide  in  Jesus  ? 

To  abide  in  Jesus,  is  just  to  keep  always  the  very 
attitude  taken  when  Jesus  was  accepted. 

As  ye  have  received  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  so 
walk  ye  in  him  —  rooted  and  grounded  in  him,  saith 
the  apostle. 

We  received  him  very  humbly.  We  felt  our 
place  to  be  the  dust.  Our  righteousness  to  be 
rags.  Our  power  to  be  weakness.  And  looked  to 
Christ  for  all  things. 

Even  so  abide.     So  walk  ye  in  him. 

He  who  is  lifted  up  with  the  idea  of  some  exalted 
state  of  purity,  or  power,  or  safety  gained,  has  in 
so  far  forgotten  the  apostolic  injunction  and  is  not  in 
the  lowly  way  where  Christ  was  received  by  him.  His 
joy  is  in  his  state,  not  in  Christ.  His  trust  is  in  his 
own  attainments,  not  in  Christ. 

The  command  is  not  —  Now  you  have  got  into  a 
high  and  holy  state,  so  walk  in  that ;  But  even  as  ye 
received  CHRIST  JESUS,  so  walk  in  HIM. 


HIDDEN  PIPES  AND   CRYSTAL   STREAMS.          323 

One  who  had  found  the  blessed  Saviour  by  faith, 
and  had  his  eyes  opened  to  see  the  folly  of  his  blind 
struggles  to  gain  the  goal  by  works :  —  became  so 
enamored  of  faith,  as  to  think  of  that  night  and 
day,  and  extol  it  to  all  listeners.  But  his  comforts 
began  to  fail,  and  his  light  grew  dim.  His  soul 
pined  away  into  leanness  again,  and  grew  hungry, 
he  could  not  tell  why.  By-and-by,  however,  a  beam 
from  the  Sun  of  Righteousness  dispelled  his  dark 
ness.  He  saw  that  he  had  magnified  faith  instead 
of  Christ.  Just  as  if  one  should  look  at  the  system 
of  iron  pipes  underlaying  the  city  streets,  and  con 
ducting  the  waters  into  every  house,  and  forgetting 
the  fountain  which  supplies  them,  should  say, — 
"  Ah,  it  is  these  pipes  which  bring  their  crystal 
streams  to  all!  We  owe  all  to  these  pipes.'' 

Satan  even  tempted  him  to  question  whether,  the 
power  was  not  in  the  faith  itself  independent  of 
Jesus.  So  that  if  there  were  no  Saviour,  yet  if 
faith  could  be  the  same,  whether  the  salvation  would 
not  be  received.  But  even  while  he  questioned 
thus,  the  power  began  to  wane,  as  the  supply  of 
water  in  our  houses  would  begin  to  fail,  the  instant 
the  fountain  head  was  shut  off  from  the  conducting 
pipes.  And  it  was  only  when  he  returned  again  to 
Jesus  as  the  fountain  which  supplies  the  Waters  of 
the  River  of  Life,  that  the  streams  began  to  flow 
again  in  full  current  into  his  heart. 

We  received  CHRIST  AS  ALL-SUFFICIENT,  even  so  let 
us  abide  in  Him. 


324                   THE   HIGHER   CHRISTIAN  LIFE. 
FATHER     A . 

A  venerable  and  lovely  Christian,  instructed  in 
the  way,  but  trembling  and  hesitating  whether,  after 
all,  it  would  do  for  him  to  trust  in  Jesus  alone, 
without  some  sign  or  seal  of  his  acceptance,  arose 
in  a  social  meeting  and  touched  every  heart  by  the 
childlike  simplicity,  and  lucid  clearness  in  which  he 
set  forth  the  way,  and  the  humility  with  which  he 
confessed  his  own  past  mistakes.  Then  in  conclu 
sion  he  said  — 

"  But  now  as  for  me,  I  see  that  the  only  way  is  to 
trust  in  Jesus.  Every  other  way  has  failed  me.  I 
have  no  hope  in  anything  else.  I  see  that  it  is  His 
to  save  me  from  my  sins,  just  the  same  as  it  is  His 
to  save  me  from  hell.  And  I  know  He  is  able  to 
save  to  the  uttermost.  But  —  but  —  whether  He 
will  do  it  —  for  we, —  I  —  I  —  dare  not  say." 

He  resumed  his  seat,  and  for  a  moment  breath 
less  silence  reigned.  Then  another  arose  and  said, 
"  Father  A.  reminds  me  of  the  counsellors  of 
"Washington  at  the  Brandywine.  The  American 
army  had  crossed  the  bridge,  and  were  going  on  to 
meet  the  enemy.  Washington  called  a  council. 
His  officers  assembled.  He  proposed  the  question, 
6  Shall  we  burn  the  bridge?'  They  said,  'No  — 
we  may  want  it  to  retreat  over.'  Washington  over 
ruled  them,  saying,  '  Burn  the  bridge  !  Then  there 
will  be  no  retreating!'  So  the  order  was  given, 
'  Burn  the  bridge  !'  and  the  bridge  was  laid  in  ashes." 


"BURN  THE  BRIDGE!"  325 

The  brother  was  going  on  to  apply  this  to  Father 
A.,  but  he  sprang  to  his  feet,  exclaiming,  "  I'll  burn 
the  bridge  !  "  And  he  did.  From  that  hour  he  was 
a  living  witness,  and  a  lovely  one,  too,  that  Jesus  is 
the  way.  All  sufficient  without  signs  or  anything 
else  to  Him  who  receives  Him. 

That's  the  way  !  Burn  the  bridge  !  Leave  no 
retreat !  Venture  wholly. 

This  we  have  done  —  if  we  have  —  done  it.  Even 
so  abide  in  Christ.  Wholly  in  Him.  Always  in 
Him. 

Suppose  comforts  fail,  light  grows  dim,  clouds  arise, 
the  heart  becomes  laggard,  courage  sinks,  joys  fall  in 
to  the  sear  and  yellow  leaf, —  or  begin  to,  what  then  ? 

Fly  to  means  ?  No  —  fly  to  Christ.  Christ  is 
what  we  want.  Christ  is  all  we  want.  Having  him 
we  shall  have  light,  comfort,  courage,  joy  and  every 
thing,  —  without  him  we  shall  have  nothing. 

Suppose  you  were  in  a  church  or  hall  at  night- 
The  lights  were  dim.  Hardly  light  enough  to  make 
the  darkness  visible.  And  suppose  you  should  see 
the  sexton  busy,  working  away  at  the  burners,  try 
ing  to  enlarge  their  apertures  of  escape  for  the  gas, 
to  increase  the  light,  and  all  the  while  you  know 
that  the  gas  is  partially  shut  off,  in  the  pipe  connect 
ing  with  the  main,  and  that  is  the  reason  of  its  faint- 
ness  in  the  jets. 

You  will  go  to  him  saying,  Man  !  Man !  let  the 
jets  alone !  Go  turn  on  the  gas  from  the  main  !  Then 


326  THE   HIGHER   CHRISTIAN  LIFE. 

let  him  do  it,  and  instantly  the  room  is  full  of  light. 
Every  burner  does  its  duty.  Ten  to  one  he  will  have 
to  go  round  to  each  burner  and  reduce  the  light  to 
keep  it  within  bounds. 

Even  so  every  man  who  has  full  and  abiding  union 
with  Jesus  will  do  his  duty.  His  light  will  shine, 
and  he  will  rather  need  restraint  than  spurs  and 
goads. 

"  I  am  the  door,  "  said  the  Master.  We  all  be 
lieve  that.  There  is  no  other. 

But  the  same  lips  said  these  other  words,  "  I  am 
the  way,  "  and  this  is  equally  true.  There  is  no 
other.  Practically,  many  believe  in  Jesus  as  the 
door.  By  him  they  enter  the  gateway  to  glory,  — 
and  then  too,  they  expect  to  be  met  at  the  end  of 
the  way  by  angel  messengers,  and  ushered  into  the 
presence  of  Jesus.  But  between  whiles,  they  expect 
to  journey  in  the  straight  and  narrow  way  by  virtue 
of  their  own  resolutions  and  watchings,  with  such 
help  from  God  and  man  as  they  can  secure  from 
time  to  time. 

Lame  faith  !  0  what  a  wretched  life  of  ups  and 
downs  they  have  of  it,  living  in  that  way. 

0  that  they  only  knew  that  Jesus  is  the  way.  He 
not  only  offers  to  be  with  them  the"  pillar  of  cloud 
and  of  fire,  the  manna  and  the  fountain,  but  he  is 
The  Way  and  there  is  no  other.  There  is  no  real 
progress  heavenward  but  IN  JESUS. 

Abiding  in  Him. 


EVERY  DAY  FRESHNESS   OF  OBEDIENCE.          327 

One  thing  more  —  vital  to  this  abiding  union  with 
Jesus  in  its  fulness  :  that  is  a  constantly  renewed 
consecration  to  do  his  will. 

"  If  ye  keep  my  commandments  ye  shall  abide  in 
my  love  :  even  as  I  have  kept  my  Father's  command 
ments  and  abide  in  his  love.  " 

It  is  an  every  day  freshness  of  full  purpose  to  do 
all  the  will  of  Jesus,  that  is  here  enjoined  as  the  way 
to  abide  in  his  love. 

Every  day  the  panorama  of  life  shifts  its  scenes, 
indeed  kaleidoscope-like,  our  circumstances  change 
to  the  turn  of  every  moment,  almost. 

Some  disciples  think  they  must  look  over  the 
ground  of  duty  at  the  end  of  each  year,  and  begin 
anew  on  New  Year's  day.  Most  of  those  who  pretend 
to  serve  the  Master  feel  it  incumbent  when  setting 
out  in  the  world  for  themselves,  or  when  commenc 
ing  married  life,  or  when  engaging  in  a  new  business, 
then  to  seek  a  new  adjustment  to  their  new  circum 
stances.  But  this  should  be  the  daily,  hourly,  con 
stant  manner  of  the  disciples  of  Christ.  "  I  do  al 
ways  the  will  of  my  Father, "  said  the  blessed  Sav 
iour,  "  and  if  you  will  keep  my  commandments  ye 
shall  abide  in  my  love,  as  I  have  kept  my  Father's 
commandments  and  abide  in  His  love.  " 

Just  here  many  and  many  a  truly  converted  one 
has  missed  the  way  and  slid  into  darkness. 

There  is  no  living  in  the  light  without  living  in 
obedience. 


328  THE   HIGHER   CHRISTIAN   LIFE. 

Remember !  Faith  accepts  the  command  and 
obeys,  just  as  it  also  accepts  the  promise  and  rests 
upon  it. 

The  branch  abiding  in  the  vine,  adjusts  itself 
to  the  times  and  seasons  of  the  vine.  It  puts  forth 
buds,  blossoms  and  leaves  in  the  spring,  fruit  in  the 
summer,  and  in  the  fall  ripens  its  precious  burden 
for  the  husbandman,  then  drops  its  leaves,  and  com 
poses  itself  for  the  rest  and  strength-gathering  time 
of  the  winter.  Just  so  we  need  to  adjust  ourselves 
to  the  will  of  the  Master  daily  and  hourly. 

So  shall  we  abide  in  his  love,  and  so  shall  his  love 
also  abide  in  us  forever. 

Before  closing,  there  is  one  practical  question 
—  always  important,  doubly  so  now,  —  concern 
ing  young  converts  :  What  shall  we  tell  them  ? 

Shall  we  tell  them  —  as  alas,  is  too  often  done,  — 
Ah,  you  are  joyous  now,  but  your  joys  will  soon 
fade? 

No.  That  would  be  cruel,  even  if  true  ;  but  it 
need  not  be  true.  Tell  them  rather,  —  Abide  in  Je 
sus,  and  your  joys  shall  be  full. 

Tell  them  like  Paul  to  press  for  the  mark,  and 
like  President  Edwards,  to  be  more  urgent  in  seek 
ing  the  Lord  than  before  conversion,  and  then  with 
Paul  you  shall  be  filled  with  all  the  fulness  of  God, 
and  with  Edwards  your  joy  in  God  shall  be  so  great 
that  when  you  walk  in  the  fields  everything  shall  be 
alive  with  God,  and  you  shall  not  be  able  to  speak 


TELL  THE  CONVERT  TO   ABIDE    IN  JESUS.         329 

forth  his  praises,  —  your  swelling  emotions  will  seek 
expression  in  song,  —  his  statutes  shall  be  literally 
your  songs  in  the  house  of  your  pilgrimage,  and  as 
your  joys  so  also  shall  your  usefulness  be.  The  joy 
of  the  Lord  shall  be  your  strength.  You  shall  be 
abundant  in  labors  and  abundant  in  success. 

But  what  shall  we  tell  the  young  convert  about 
the  higher  life  ? 

Tell  him  that  he  must  go  through  a  long  process 
of  seeking  —  must  try  all  the  by-ways  before  finding 
the  high-way  ?  No.  No. 

Tell  him  simply  to  abide  in  Jesus.  As  he  has  re 
ceived  him,  so  to  walk  in  him.  Give  himself  to  Je 
sus,  soul,  body  and  spirit. 

Commit  the  keeping  of  his  soul  to  Jesus. 

Commit  the  purifying  of  his  soul  to  Jesus.  Com 
mit  all  the  affairs  of  life  to  Jesus.  Cast  all  his  cares 
upon  Jesus. 

Take  Jesus  as  all  in  all,  and  find  all  in  him. 

Take  up  every  cross.    Keep  every  commandment  and 

walk  in  his  love.     Tell  him  to  do  this  and  he  shall 

not  grope  in  darkness,  but  will  be  in  the  higher  life, — 

"  And  all  that  life  is  love  !" 

Tell  him  the  words  of  Jesus. 

"  I  am  the  true  vine,  and  my  Father  is  the  husbandman. 

Every  branch  in  me  that  beareth  not  fruit,  he  taketh  away  : 
and  every  branch  that  beareth  fruit,  he  purgeth  it,  that  it  may 
bring  forth  more  fruit. 

Now  ye  are  clean  through  the  word  which  I  have  spoken  un 
to  you. 


330  THE   HIGHEE  CHRISTIAN  LIFE. 

Abide  in  me  and  I  in  you.  As  the  branch  cannot  bear  fruit 
of  itself,  except  it  abide  in  the  vine  :  no  more  can  ye,  except 
ye  abide  in  me. 

I  am  the  vine,  ye  are  the  branches.  He  that  abideth  in  me, 
and  I  in  him,  the  same  bringeth  forth  much  fruit :  for  without 
me  ye  can  do  nothing. 

If  a  man  abide  not  in  me,  he  is  cast  forth  as  a  branch,  and  is 
withered  ;  andmen  gather  them,  and  cast  them  into  the  fire,  and 
they  are  burned. 

If  ye  abide  in  me,  and  my  words  abide  in  you,  ye  shall  ask 
what  ye  will  and  it  shall  be  done  unto  you. 

Herein  is  my  Father  glorified,  that  ye  bear  much  fruit ;  so 
shall  ye  be  my  disciples. 

As  the  Father  hath  loved  me,  so  have  I  loved  you :  continue 
ye  in  my  love. 

If  ye  keep  my  commandments,  ye  shall  abide  in  my  love  : 
even  as  I  have  kept  my  Father's  commandments  and  abide  in 
his  love. 

These  things  have  I  spoken  unto  you,  that  my  joy  might 
remain  in  you,  and  that  your  joy  might  be  full." 

Tell  them  further  from  Jesus  — "This  do,  and  the 
'  promise  of  the  Father '  shall  be  shed  upon  you, 
and  '  Ye  shall  receive  power  when  the  Holy  Ghost ' 
is  given  you ;  then  shall  ye  be  '  witnesses  unto 
me.' " 

And  now,  unto  Him  who  is  able  to  do  exceeding 
abundantly  above  all  we  ask  or  think,  according  to 
the  power  that  worketh  in  us,  unto  Him  be  glory  in 
the  church,  by  Christ  Jesus,  throughout  all  ages, 
world  without  end.  Amen. 


FOURTEEN  DAY  USE 

RETURN  TO  DESK  FROM  WHICH  BORROWED 


This  book  is  due  on  the  last  date  stamped  below,  or 

on  the  date  to  which  renewed. 
Renewed  books  are  subject  to  immediate  recall. 


LD  21-100m-2,'55 
(B139s22)476 


General  Library 

University  of  California 

Berkeley 


YB  29466 


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